A Debt Repaid
by Asillym
Summary: By some will of magic, Gaston survives the fall. However, he has a price to pay. The beast, now Prince Adam, has a dark history he has kept hidden, and a new couple enters the castle. What is in store for everyone? Read to find out, and review please.
1. Chapter 1

(Ok so earlier I had been writing another story and I received some really harsh comments on it that were not appropriate for this site, but then again…neither was my story, so here I have taken a risk in attempt to redeem myself as a writer. I hope someone appreciates it…I have done more editing)

The ground was cold, wet and unforgiving. His eyes opened. Everything was still around him. The silence even seemed to refuse him. He didn't know how long it had been, days, weeks. Who knew? It felt as though every bone in his body was broken. The darkness surrounding him was his only comfort, and even that would soon fade.

_Why am I still alive?_ Gaston thought to himself. He hoped that some part of him, some bodily extension would move, but there was nothing. _My own body rejected me_. He couldn't even feel anymore and he wanted nothing more than to die there. He could not comprehend a consciousness without a body to match. He had lost all feeling, all emotion and the ground refused to take him. Death even turned a cold shoulder upon him.

At that precise moment, a golden wisp of air floated above his head, landing gently on the earth. It took form. Gaston could barely see what it was. He couldn't move his eyes to look upon the figure that appeared before him. As it materialized, Gaston felt unbearable jolts of pain burst through his body. Not knowing he was capable of it, Gaston let out a deep cry that barely echoed amongst the earth. A cold feminine voice scolded him.

"Did you really think you would get off this easy Gaston? Did you think fate would let you die here peacefully with the shame that you so rightfully deserve? Hah! You are a pathetic soul."

Gaston couldn't respond. The pain was eating at every inch of him now.

"Your soul doesn't deserve the grace of death." The hiss resonated violently. "I think you are aware of what must be done Gaston, you pitiful creature!" The words echoed in his head.

He was still unable to reply. Any control over his body had been taken from him with the last cry.

"Insolent fool! Speak back. It is rude not to answer me!" Two red eyes appeared facing Gaston, almost hovering above him.

He tried to force out a sound, only succeeding with a soft groan. He could barely think, let alone speak.

Another wisp of gold appeared and materialized. Gaston still could not make out a form.

"Aristra, do not taunt the boy! We have a task here to do." This voice was much more forgiving. "Child do you know why you've been kept alive?"

Of course Gaston had no clue. Besides he couldn't force any audible sound out of his mangled form.

Aristra spoke. "I see you can't even answer, you meaningless scum. Do you realize you cannot control anything in this world, especially not your own fate?"

The other voice came booming forth. "Child we have chosen you to return to the earth. You have a chance to redeem yourself. You cannot choose death now. You have only one option, and that is to go back to the humiliation and suffering which you rightfully deserve."

Gaston felt a wet hand come down on his face. Suddenly some feeling came back through his body, only to make him more aware of the pain he was feeling. The hand reached back, dripping. Gaston finally felt strong enough to speak, only to say words he would soon regret.

"You think I'm at fault?" His lungs were barely backing his voice. "That creature took my prize? What kind of girl chooses a beast over a man like me?" His anger returned to him. Why did he deserve this fate?

"Hah! a man like you? Look at yourself Gaston. You don't deserve the town whore! Your body is utterly useless. The only person to pity you is yourself, and what is there in that?"

Gaston could not come up with any sort of rebuttal, but his anger still got the best of him. "You are women! What power do you have over my fate?" As soon as he finished his sentence, another jolt of pain forced its way through every inch of his body, this time slowly.

"You think our sex is a weakness do you?" Aristra had more than enough anger to fight Gaston. "Choose your words wisely boy!" She clenched her fist in order to hold back her rage.

Gaston yelled as pain tunneled through his body. This only fueled his anger further. "I deserve revenge on that monster…and Belle. Do you know what shame she has brought me? Is she still up there with that creature? How could anyone choose him over a man like me? You witches best get away from me because when I regain my strength, I will find them and hurt them and you too if you don't watch your backs. That beast should have killed me when he had the chance!" Gaston howled through clenched teeth as his body regained feeling.

Aristra lifted an arm and shot a bolt of fire down next to him. "Do you really wish to mess with the fates? Reconsider your decision fool. Do not talk back to me in such a tone, and don't you dare threaten me. I can make your life more miserable than you've ever dreamed!"

"Oh like it can get any worse than this!" Gaston's eyes tightened with fury.

The other woman came beside Aristra and spoke in a deep and solemn voice, with a tone much more frightening than before. "Gaston it can get much worse. It would be wise of you to stop now."

Gaston was silenced. His body fell still and cold. The two women put their hands out sending jolts of light into Gaston's body, forcing him high into the air. Aristra clenched her hand tightly and twisted it. New and restored pain wove through Gaston's face and skull, then traveled throughout the rest of his body. The two women then lowered their hands placing Gaston back on the solid earth.

"Now listen carefully because I will not return to explain this again. I have much business to attend to. My sister Aristra and I represent the committee of fate. We are not here by choice. You have a chance to redeem yourself. I am giving you this rose which will bloom until your 30th birthday. If you learn to love someone and earn her love in return by the time the last petal falls then the spell will be broken. However, if you fail, you will receive a fate much worse and much more painful than this one. Lastly, you will not have the power to harm anyone or anything, even yourself. You must learn to use your words. You should be extremely thankful for this. Oh, and one last thing. You must get both Belle and the Beast to forgive you." With that, the two sisters disappeared, and Gaston was left alone with the rose.

Gaston pushed himself slowly off the ground, gasping for breath every inch of the way. He lifted his eyes, hoping to see the two women standing in front of him, but the air around him was still, silent. Anger settled in and Gaston forced himself towards the woods hoping to strangle some innocent animal in his rage, but the forest was silent and refused to accept him. He scanned the ground for some inkling of life, ready to attack anyone who came near him. He tried to shrug off the words of the two women, but found their voices resonating inside his head. _Lastly, you will not have the power to harm anyone or anything, even yourself. _The words reverberated deeply and Gaston could not shake the image of the two women from his head. He tried in vain to fight the air around him, his punches flying forth, but it too yielded little.

Then out of the silence, Gaston heard a rustle. He perked up to the sound, searching for something to kill. Someone had to suffer. He looked down towards the nearby bush which was just barely shaking. He watched it closely, and noticed a dark silhouette moving amongst the brush.   
"All right, I've got you. I know you're hiding from me." Gaston tried to force open the bush, but his hand barely touched the exterior as something blocked him, sending it back. He tried again with the same outcome. _It couldn't be. _Gaston tried over and over to force his had inside of the bush, but eventually gave up when he realized his efforts were futile. He trudged forward, hungry for revenge. His hands were numb now from the battle with the invisible bush shield. _Who the hell cares if I harm a shrub?_ Gaston wanted so badly to hit something. He looked back behind to see a mouse scamper out of the bushes. He dove at it, only to find himself face to face with the cold hard earth. The mouse remained unharmed, sheltered in fact, by the combination of the invisible force and Gaston's hands hovering about it. The mouse ran off, and Gaston felt defeated. A wave of chills washed over him.

He wiggled his toes inside his boots and felt that they were wet. A puddle beneath them had soaked through the holes. He rose again and turned face to face with the puddle. It was completely still, and Gaston could see his reflection in the water. He could not believe what he saw. He barely recognized himself. _My gorgeous face,_ he thought, _what happened?_ The disfigurement was grotesque. His eyes were much further back, in deep gray sockets. His nose changed direction in about three places and his lower lip sagged down as wet pockets of saliva filled in the rims. His ears jutted straight out, completely perpendicular to the rest of his skull, and his earlier over-pronounced chin was now small and slightly crooked. His previously smooth jaw line was now contorted and broken at every angle. This was possibly the ugliest face Gaston had ever seen. He moved forward over the puddle and saw the disfigurement had affected his body in many more innumerable ways. He couldn't look any longer.

He angrily stomped into the puddle sending splashes of water over his already blood drenched clothing. The water rippled outward and calmed. Gaston stormed back to town, refusing to believe that this image was really him. _This must be a trick of those witches._ He gathered himself together, walked back to grab the rose, and carried himself towards the town, in the hope that they would help him seek revenge. There was no way he would ask that sick woman and that monster for forgiveness. They were going to suffer for what had happened to him.


	2. Chapter 2

(So I did a bit of research on the disney movie and supposedly the beast's real name-according to disney- was Adam, so that's what I'm going with)

That night after the celebration the castle was calm and quiet. Belle and the prince went and sat on the couch by the fireplace to have some time alone.

"Adam, I'm beginning to miss the enchantment of the castle." She looked at him, bright-eyed and questioning.

"I know. This might take some getting used to. I barely remember what it feels like to hold a fork properly." They both chuckled. Belle sat down beside him and began to read aloud a new book she found in the library. He watched her attentively while running his hands through her hair, hanging on every word.

She stopped suddenly, putting the book down. "You know what Adam? I want to hear your story about the enchantment on the castle. How did it all happen? No one ever really told me. It was all so secretive."

"All right, but you better finish that story later." Adam took a deep breath and began telling Belle everything that happened from the old beggar woman to the dark magic that overtook the castle. She sat attentive listening carefully as he told her everything. Her curiosity about his past overwhelmed her. She wanted to know so much. She wanted to read a book on it and felt compelled to ask more.

"Adam, what about your parents and your family? Where are they?" Belle could see she had gone too far. Adam recoiled at this question.

"Belle, can we save that story for another time? I don't want to talk about it on such a happy occasion." Belle's eyes showed her understanding and her feelings of guilt and embarrassment. She did not want to push the subject any further, so she skipped the apology, knowing he would prefer it that way She opened the book and began reading again. The story enchanted Adam. He rested his head on her lap as she stroked his hair continuing to read. She barely even noticed the time passing and when she finally looked away from her book she saw Adam was fast asleep. He looked adorable that way. Belle couldn't make herself wake him up. She grabbed a blanket and snuggled up next to him drifting off in his arms.

Gaston dragged himself back to the town through the cold uncaring darkness. He had to find Lefou. He wanted to speak to him, tell him what happened. He knew Lefou would understand him. Then perhaps he'd find one of the blond triplets and have his way with her, just to get back into the swing of things. He had it all planned out. The earlier scene played out in his head as Gaston continued to deny it had happened, that the entire day had happened. Maybe it was all a dream. He comforted himself with the thought. Soon he would wake up with a girl by his side, but he wasn't waking up and there was not a girl in sight.

By the time he reached the town it was almost daylight. Now he could make his grand return. Maybe the whole thing wasn't a dream, but he was still the great and wonderful Gaston, irresistible as he was vile. He continued into the city as farmers got out preparing their crops. Women opened the windows fanning out rugs and hanging dirty laundry from the previous days. Then the first sign of truth came.

"Mom can we buy some muffins from the baker?" A young girl tugged on the skirt of her mother as they left their home. They had not yet seen Gaston. He came forward approaching them.

The girl shrieked in horror as the disfigured man approached them. "Maria don't look at him or talk to him." The woman came face to face with Gaston. Gaston recognized her, but she did not return the familiarity. "Stay away from my daughter you monster!" Gaston felt sick. Just a week ago this same woman told Gaston that she needed a good man to care for her children. She was widowed after her husband left to fight in England. She flirted with him before and now she looked upon Gaston in disgust. She and her daughter quickly moved out of visible range.

This incident however was not enough to compress Gaston's somehow still inflated ego. _All right, maybe you're a little dirty from everything. Just go wash your face_, he thought to himself with renewed comfort. He went over to the nearby well and splashed some water on his face. He thought about his clothes and realized that the massive blood stains could scare anyone, so he tromped home, blowing off the stares and comments from passer Byers, assuming it would all changed once he changed into presentable clothing. He pushed his now stringy thin black hair out of his face. He reached his house and forced open the door. No one was there.

He decided to wait until after he changed clothing to admire himself in the mirror. He grabbed a clean shirt, tailcoat, and pair of pants. It was a handsome set. As he forced the shirt over his head, he felt it rip over his back. He ignored it, figuring the tailcoat would cover the tear. He pulled off his pants to see his legs were almost purple. _Well I was cold all night. That must be it._ He put on the fresh pair already feeling better about himself. Lastly he put on the coat, finding he had trouble getting his arms through the sleeves. When he finally did, the coat tore. _Well that's a badly made coat._ His denial began to weaken as his senses kicked in. He had to do it. He forced himself over to the mirror. What he saw made vomit rise in his throat. He forced himself to swallow it. He looked much worse in the light. Purple and red streaks of veins and capillaries adorned his already disfigured face. He now realized why his shirts and coats were torn. His spine was incredibly contorted. Gaston made the hunchback of Notre Dame look like the best postured man in the world. His upper frame was weak and when he lifted his shirt he could see a full rack of ribs protruding beneath a thin web of white flesh.

He couldn't take it. He went outside, feeling sick, coughing and choking as he leaned over facing the dirt. He had to accept the truth, but he needed help. He needed someone to recognize him. He had to find Lefou.


	3. Chapter 3

Belle woke up finding herself alone on the couch. The room was dark. Rubbing her eyes, she walked over to the window and drew open the curtains. Strong beams of sunlight illuminated the room. The castle was unusually quiet and Belle could not believe how late she slept. By the look of it, she had slept through a good portion of the morning. She felt incredibly refreshed but slightly angry with herself for sleeping through important hours of the day. She walked into the kitchen, where a small breakfast spread was set out. She sat down to eat, surprised that much of the food was still hot.

"Belle, you look beautiful as always." Adam leaned over her, giving her a light kiss on the forehead. "I'm sorry. You looked so content sleeping there. I just couldn't force myself to wake you." Belle smiled back at him through closed lips as he had decided to greet her just after she took a large bite into her toast.

When she finally swallowed, she answered, "Well darling, thank you. I do feel most beautiful after oversleeping". She laughed lightly and Adam decided to dig into the food as well. They both had their mouths full when Lumiere burst into the room, looking very anxious and excited.

"Master, two guests have arrived at ze castle!" He almost jumped with anticipation.

"Well lets go greet them," Adam said between swallows. Belle and Adam followed Lumiere towards the door.

Adam reached forward and opened it. For such a warm day, the visitors looked heavily overdressed. It was a couple, the woman more covered up than the man.

"Monsieur, may we come in?" The man had a thick accent that certainly did not sound French.

"Why of course," Lumiere filled in before the prince could even respond. The couple tiptoed inside, proceeding to remove their heavy layers of scarves, hats, coats, and many other belongings, many of which were not actually items of clothing. The man had a long untamed beard, something very unusual for a Frenchman, but Belle and Adam already figured that the couple was not French. His eyes were dark and beady, but he looked young, somewhat stout, with a dark circles under his eyes as though he hadn't slept in days. The woman was petite, pale with dark hair and eyes, providing an intense contrast to her skin. She possessed a unique beauty, unlike anything Belle or Adam had ever seen.

"I am Jacob, and this is my wife Shira. We have traveled here to find inspiration, for I am a, how do you say? Uh, a struggling man of words?"

"Are you a writer?" Belle's expression brightened as she thought of the possibility of a writer in her own home.

"Yes, yes. That is it. My wife and I travel all over to beautiful places in hopes that I may create a story, a book that will make us rich. So far we have not found proper ideas." The woman, Shira, nodded meekly at his words, as though she had been told to do so. Belle was surprised at how well the man spoke French as he was clearly not a native speaker. "I know this is a great burden to ask, but might we be able to stay here for a small while?"

Belle looked at Adam questioningly. The prince feeling particularly generous on this day answered the couple, "Of course!" They smiled, gathering their things, and the inhabitants of the castle quickly began making living arrangements.

Gaston stood up slowly, wiping the remnants of vomit from his mouth. His throat was unbearably dry at this point. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. Forcing his way back inside the house, he focused on his immediate goal, how to reach Lefou. He ran to his closet and rummaged through, violently tossing clothing through the air. Finally he found it, a cloak he had worn in his teenage years when he and his friends would play pranks on people in the town. He remembered the pastime with nostalgia. _All right, focus._ He had a goal that he needed to meet. He sat waiting until nightfall when he would make his move. He gathered his belongings together, ate some stale bread leftover in his pantry, and drank a bottle of whiskey which did not do much for his thirst. He had to leave the town once and for all and he needed Lefou's help.

Finally when the safety of darkness spread over the town, Gaston sauntered outside, hiding beneath the cloak and the night sky. He made his way silently across town. As he reached Lefou's door, he listened making sure no one was there to see him. There was no sound. The house was completely silent, except for some awkward scuttling, that Gaston recognized as Lefou's nightly activities, preparing for bed and such. Gaston gave a single hard dull knock on the door. He could hear Lefou shuffling over to the door. It creaked open. Lefou was already in his nightclothes. The candle in front of his face illuminated his frightened expression. He lifted the candle towards Gaston's face. Before he could let out a scream of terror, Gaston's hand shot across his mouth, silencing him to a muffled groan.

"Lefou, listen you must let me inside and you cannot scream. It's me, Gaston. Does my voice sound familiar to you?" It did. In fact, it was perhaps Gaston's only quality that was preserved besides his cold blue eyes. Lefou silently backed away, inside, Gaston following his every step. "Now, Lefou, I have to tell you what happened to me and I need your help."

Lefou thought about these words. The Gaston he knew would never ask him for help. "Why should I help you or even listen to you? How do I know you're really Gaston?"

Gaston was prepared for this question. After his experience that day he knew it was coming. "I didn't want to have to do this," he said almost mockingly. "You had a birthmark on your ass shaped like a heart, and when we were twelve, I dared you try to cut it out, and you did. So now you have a heart shaped hole on your ass." He almost felt bad taking such a cheap shot, but Gaston wasn't going to embarrass himself. He'd already asked Lefou, a total chump, for help.

Lefou looked both embarrassed and impressed. "Only Gaston would know that. By the way, it's a scar now, not a hole. So what happened to you? I thought you died at the castle. That's what everyone's saying." Lefou couldn't believe Gaston was alive. He would have hugged him, if it weren't for the fact that Gaston resembled an unwrapped mummy.

"Well I didn't." Gaston proceeded to tell Lefou the entire story, comforted by Lefou's intent listening, and a still prevalent dose of admiration.

"So you really have to apologize to them?" Lefou couldn't believe Gaston would be able to do such a thing.

"Yeah, I don't know. I don't think I can do that to myself. I mean they're both crazy, and I want revenge. No, Lefou, I deserve revenge." Lefou nodded in agreement.

"Wait Gaston, do they have to know it's you apologizing?" Lefou looked at him directly.

"I dunno, why?"

"Well what if you tricked them. They wouldn't recognize you. Then, you could talk them into forgiving 'the poor man that they killed', break the spell, and get the revenge you deserve." Lefou looked excited about his plan.

"Lefou, I just had a great idea. I could go to the castle, pretend to be some poor old guy. They wouldn't even recognize me. Then I'd talk them into forgiving me, but they wouldn't know it was me. Then I would break the spell and seek my vengeance!" Gaston beamed as though the idea was entirely his. Lefou was irritated, but his weak will forced him not to do anything about having the credit taken from him in front of his own eyes.

He meekly said, "Yeah, that's a great idea," trailing off on the last syllable, angry at himself for not arguing with Gaston, but how can you argue with Gaston. Even looking the way he did, his ego was still in tact. Lefou was unsure how long that would last. "Uh Gaston, how are you going to get someone to fall in love with you?"

Gaston shot him an angry glare. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"We?" Lefou wondered when and where he came into the master plan.

"Yes, we." Gaston looked at Lefou, excited and ready to begin their evil plot, not knowing what fate held in store.


	4. Chapter 4

(Ok guys sry- It's been hard to update as I've had a lot of homework and I've been sick lately. But now is the weekend so I have some more time)

Gaston glanced over his shoulder as Lefou headed to his bedroom. "So, you've got the plan. We leave before dawn." Lefou nodded uncomfortably, and shuffled into his bedroom closing the door, leaving Gaston alone to contemplate.

Gaston snuffed the candle by the couch where he was sleeping, and memories poked at him through the darkness. He had tried to block out most of his childhood, but on nights like these it would come creeping over him like his own shadow. Gaston had almost no memories of his parents. He spent much of his childhood with his uncle, an extremely disgusting excuse for a human being. This particular memory was not any more significant than the rest, but it was the one that bothered him on this particular night.

Gaston had his rifle ready, as his uncle had promised him they would go hunting that day. Gaston enjoyed the adventures outside since they took away from the dreary life of the cabin. He was about ten at the time.

Running up to his uncle's bedroom he called him, "Uncle, Uncle, come on let's go outside. I'm going to get the big deer today!" The sun had just risen over the horizon, and it was a perfect morning to begin a journey, but Gaston's uncle was not on his way down. Gaston listened near the doorway. He could hear his uncle arguing with a girl, a girl who sounded not much older than Gaston.

"But Monsieur Lafayette, you promised me the money for me and my mother. I cannot go home empty handed. Please Monsieur." Gaston could hear soft sobs under the girl's speaking.

"Be quiet, you whore. You don't deserve any of my money. I was unsatisfied with your performance." Gaston could hear the girl's sobs grow heavier.

"Please, Monsieur, it was my first time. You promised me it would be worth 50 francs." Gaston couldn't understand what they were talking about. He just wanted to go hunting.

"Dupree, it was not worth a single franc. Now please leave." His voice was cold and harsh.

"Please, we need the money for food. We will starve. You owe me for what you've taken!" The sobs almost overpowered the words.

Then Gaston heard the harsh thwap of skin on skin. "Do not talk to me in that tone, whore. I don't want you in my home. Leave before I hit you again." Gaston saw the girl run out beside him, tears streaming down her face. Following her outside, he handed her his handkerchief.

"Please don't cry Dupree. It's ok." Little Gaston didn't know what all the trouble was about. She looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears. Gaston could see the loss of innocence in her eyes, but he couldn't recognize it for what it was. For a moment he thought she was going to accept the handkerchief as his token of kindness, but she merely slapped it from his hand, sending it plummeting towards the dirt.

"I don't want your pity." Crying, she ran off, and Gaston never saw her again.

When it happened Gaston had no idea what all had occurred, but as he remembered it now, it became much clearer. He reached into his bag of belongings, and pulled out a gold locket. It was a gift from his mother, the only piece of his family he had left. He barely remembered her or anything about her, but he had this necklace, the one key to his past. He fell back asleep, dreams and memories drifting over him.

That night at the castle an exquisite array of food was set for dinner and for the new house guests. Belle spoke to them first.

"So Jacob, Shira, where are you from?" Belle was interested as she had never left France. She wanted to hear about the excitement from afar.

"Well, we have lived in many places as I am a traveling writer. We spent time in England, Norway, Germany, many countries." Jacob smiled proudly. His voice was deep and thick, and its heavy tone carried around the room without much effort on Jacob's part. The rest of the table seemed curious about his many adventures.

"Wow that sounds thrilling. So, what place is your favorite?" Belle smiled attentively.

"Well, uh. That is hard to say. Perhaps here, in such a nice home with such nice people." He smiled and hearty laughs echoed about the table. At this point Adam felt ready to chime in.

"Well Shira, how did you meet Jacob?" Adam looked over in her direction. Shira looked shocked, and dropped her spoon into the soup sending bits of it splashing over the side.

She opened her mouth to respond but before she could get a word out, Jacob filled in. "Ah well, we knew each other as small children. Our families grew up near one another and we eventually fell in love and got married." He smiled.

"Zat's so sweet," Babette responded. Her eyes twinkled whenever anyone talked about love.

Belle was surprised that Shira hadn't spoken. "Shira, is that so?"

Shira looked up again, and meekly said, "Yes of course." She almost looked frightened to answer. Her eyes widened and she waited impatiently for someone else to speak.

Lumiere seeing the growing discomfort at the table, decided to start in about himself. He began a long story about his days in training for his position at the castle, and Cogsworth occasionally came in with some correction. The two would bicker, and Mrs. Potts had to come in to get them back on track. As soon as dinner ended, Lumiere showed the guests to their new room. Shira and Jacob set up and seemed eager to get to sleep, so Lumiere left them alone and headed back to see Belle and Adam.

"Master, did you find it odd at all how little ze girl spoke?" Lumiere looked at him questioningly.

"Well, I think she was just shy and nervous." Adam didn't really notice.

"Lumiere, I thought it was weird. I don't understand why she felt so scared to answer anything. It was like she'd been told to be quiet." Belle paced back and forth as if rethinking the whole dinner. "I know! Tomorrow, I'll ask her to come with me into town to shop for some groceries. Then I can talk to her there. I would like to get to know her better. Maybe you can play a game of chess with Jacob, Adam?" Adam looked much less than thrilled.

"Sure," he grunted. "But tonight is for us." Kissing Belle, he whisked her off her feet and carried her upstairs. Mrs. Potts looked over at Belles father, and they went to put Chip in bed.

"Mama," Chip looked up at her inquisitively, "Do you think Jacob and Shira will stay here for awhile? I like them."

Mrs. Potts chuckled. "I like them too. I don't know. Maurice, what do you think?"

"I don't know myself. But I hope they stay for awhile. It's always nice to have guests and they are a unique pair." He gave Chip a peck on the forehead, snuffed the candle at the bedside table and walked with Mrs. Potts to the kitchen to have a cup of tea before bed.


	5. Chapter 5

That morning when it was still dark, Gaston woke up. After a night of unsatisfying sleep, he was ready to leave. He wanted to clear his mind.

"Lefou, are you ready." Gaston took no care to be nice or gentle as he rapped on Lefou's bedroom door. After a few seconds of hard knocking he shoved the door open to see Lefou groggily rubbing his eyes.

"Gaston," he croaked, "Isn't it a little early?"

"No." Gaston was already impatient. He had his belongings packed up and ready to go. Gaston heard a dull thud as Lefou fell from his bed trying to reach for clothing from his closet.

"You'll be back later. Just get your stuff and walk with me." Gaston sounded irritated.

"I'm coming." Lefou waddled around in search for his things. He wanted to go back to sleep more than anything, but he knew the details of the plan and he knew he could come back and sleep once he knew Gaston had infiltrated the castle. When he was finally ready, they left the house under the safe shield of darkness.

By the time they were deep in the forest, beams of light penetrated the trees leaving sprinkled patches of white on the ground. Gaston found it quite comforting. He wondered how long it would take them to get to the castle entrance.

"So Gaston, what did you say you're name was going to be?" Gaston stopped dead in his tracks. "What is it Gaston?"

"Lefou, I didn't think of that. What is my name going to be?" Gaston scratched his chin searching for an answer.

"What about Marcel?" Gaston looked at him.

"What the hell kind of name is that Lefou?" Gaston seemed almost angry at the suggestion. "Do I look like a Marcel?"

_No you look like a Frankenstein,_ Lefou thought, but didn't say it. "Well, then don't take my suggestion. How about Gerald?" Gaston's face showed his disgust.

"Lefou, those names are horrible. How do you think of them?" The two stood together and began listing of names that they knew, Joseph, David, and Constantine. Lefou's suggestions only became worse with Theodore, Alfred, Eugene, and Luigi.

"Lefou, Luigi isn't even a French name." Gaston was really frustrated by the failing suggestions.

"Well, I know. But I like it."

"I already knew you had bad taste Lefou. Don't make it worse for yourself." Gaston looked over at Lefou impatiently.

"Fine then, what about Jacques?" Gaston's expression brightened.

"Well, that's not bad. Sure I'll go with it." And with that they continued walking. Gaston looked content with the name they had chosen, and Lefou was glad not to have Gaston pestering him anymore for ideas.

When they finally reached the castle gates, Lefou was ready to go home.

"All right Lefou, you wait here." They both turned to look at the castle. Gaston peered a little closer.

"Gee Gaston, wasn't the castle dark and scary last time? It looks really different now." Gaston saw what Lefou was talking about.

"Well, it was dark the last time we came here. It probably just looks different in the day." Gaston tried to coax himself with this thought but he knew there was something clearly different. The last time he came, the roof had massive black gargoyles on it. Now it was glistening in gold, and the only figures carved into it were angels. He remembered considered that image was the last thing he had in his head before the witches came.

"Yeah, you're probably right Gaston. All right, well I'll watch until you go in, but then I'm heading home. So I'll meet you out here this time next week?" Gaston nodded as he inched toward the unfamiliar structure. It loomed over him, almost taunting him with its architectural magnificence. Golden spires jutted towards the sky, and angels danced along the edges of the rooftops. Gaston didn't know what to expect. He prepared himself as he approached the large golden door. He lifted his hand and knocked unsure of what to expect.

At first nothing happened, and Gaston was unsure that he was in the right place. But then he could see Belle's figure through a stained glass window. She looked absolutely radiant as she always had. Gaston felt a lump rise in his throat, and forced himself to swallow. The door opened, and an unfamiliar face peered into his.

Gaston looked at the man. Belle quickly appeared behind him.   
"Uh, hello, Monsieur, I was looking for a place to stay. You see I've been traveling a long way, and I'm tired. I just wanted a place to rest for the night."

Belle looked at him closely. "Do I know you?" She looked deep into his eyes. Uncomfortably he looked away. "You look familiar."

_How could she recognize me? No one in the town did. Even Lefou had trouble._ Gaston looked up at her, and trying to disguise his voice he spoke again. "Pardon me Mademoiselle, but I don't think we've ever met. I've traveled a long way. I just wanted a place to stay and rest for awhile." Gaston couldn't tell if they believed him. Belle stopped looking at him, and seemed fairly satisfied by his answer. She turned to look at the man beside her. They whispered something to each other but Gaston couldn't make it out.

This time the man responded. "I am the master of this castle and my name is Adam. This is my wife Belle." Gaston had to fight his jaw from dropping. He didn't understand. _Where is the beast?_ "We might have some room for you. Do you mind sharing a space?" Gaston could not believe how kind they were being to him, after the way the people in the town had acted. He always knew Belle had an unusually soft side for ugly things, but this stranger as well?

"Uh, no of course not. By the way my name is G-Jacques, Jacques, sorry. I have a cold." _Idiot_. Gaston scolded himself for almost completely ruining the master plan. He wondered where the beast was, and who this strange man was apparently married to Belle.

"Well then, we'll make some arrangements." He smiled, and Gaston followed Belle and Adam inside. Gaston breathed a sigh of relief. Something about the castle seemed different, but Gaston could not point out exactly what it was. Following them in he scanned over the walls, clutching his belongings to him tightly. He could feel the container of the rose. Gaston had to fight himself from asking Belle why she didn't marry him as they walked through the corridors. He wanted to pry about her about himself, but he knew it was not the time. However he couldn't help notice that the man she was with was surprisingly handsome, compared to the beast. Looking around he wondered exactly how he was going to get Belle and the Beast, wherever he was, to forgive him.

"So uh, this castle is really nice." Gaston wanted to say something to break the awkward silence.

"Oh thank you." Belle smiled back at him. "It wasn't always this way though." Belle and Adam exchanged smiles. Gaston's mind grew heavy with confusion. The walk to the room seemed endless.

Finally they reached it. Belle knocked on the door. "Shira, Jacob, are you up yet?"

"Yes, do you have plans for today?" Jacob's deep voice resonated through the door.

"Well actually I wanted to talk to you. You see,another man has arrived here and he was wondering if he could stay. But your room is the only room where there's space." Jacob came to the door pulling it open. "I mean if it isn't too much trouble for you." Adam looked at Jacob with kind questioning eyes.

"Well, sure I suppose it can be done. Perhaps we hang a curtain in the middle?" Jacob propped himself in the doorway. Shira appeared looking behind his shoulder.

"Thank you Jacob. That is really kind of you to give up some of your space. I'm sorry about all this." Belle placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It is no problem. We are a big family now, right?" He laughed, looking quite uncomfortable at the hand on his shoulder. Gaston quietly observed everything, still dying to know where the beast had gone. Shira came out into the open. Gaston had to hide his reaction. This girl was absolutely beautiful. Her huge brown eyes against her pale skin provided the most exquisite contrast, and her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders. Gaston felt a little uncomfortable having to live with the couple, but he had to settle for whatever he could take. He was already surprised at how easy it had been to get into the house.

"Well, Jacques, make yourself comfortable. Shira, would you like to come with me to town to get some groceries?" Gaston took a minute to realize he had to respond to the new name. Shira looked at her husband as if asking permission. He gave a slight nod, looking somewhat reluctant.

Shira turned to Belle, and barely spoke, "Yes." Belle hoped they would have more conversation than this on their trip to town. Jacob went in the room for a moment by himself.

After coming out he turned to Gaston, "All right Jacques, let us set up that curtain." Gaston followed him inside, excited that the beginning of his plan had worked with such ease. Now he needed to find the beast.


	6. Chapter 6

Gaston followed Jacob into the room. On his way in he wondered why the three of them were being confined to such a small place in a huge castle. Gaston pushed the thought out of his mind. He looked around the room, which was in fact quite large. _Maybe they're trying to get the best use out of the space._ He noticed that it looked as though Jacob had hidden all of his belongings.

Adam appeared in the room with a long sheet. "I'm sorry you both have to stay here. Now that the castle's back as it was, well we all saw it fit to renovate it with the times. You know fashions change. We're all a little cramped, but there's still a lot of space. Once we finish remodeling that side of the castle, we'll do this side. It's pretty exciting actually." Gaston looked over at Jacob, who was clearly just as confused as he was. Finally Gaston felt the urge to speak.

"Uh Monsieur, what do you mean about the castle being back as it was?" Unable to censor himself, Gaston went on. "Also I had heard rumors that a beast lived in this castle." Gaston got a little nervous. _That's it. They'll all know it's me._

Little shock appeared on Adam's face. Gaston's worst fears were not confirmed. "Well, I guess word does spread easily. How about this? Lumiere and Cogsworth, I'm sure, will be excited to tell you the entire story of the castle's enchantment over dinner. But I have some work to do." Adam decided not to mention Belle's suggestion of chess with Jacob. He was not very good at the game in the first place. Besides, an interior decorator was supposed to be arriving from Paris later that afternoon. "Do you need help with the curtain?"

Gaston and Jacob responded in unison. "No." With that Adam left, and Gaston and Jacob got to work. Gaston was relieved knowing Adam had not discovered who he was.

"So, uh Jacob, right? Where are you from?" Gaston had been to busy with his plan earlier to notice the thick accent that Jacob had. Something about it seemed familiar.

"Well, eh, I am a man of many countries. I have traveled a lot." Gaston was not totally pleased by this answer, but he would take what he could get. As Gaston hooked the curtain to the end of the room by the window, he thought about what Adam said, about the enchantment. _What could he have meant by that?_ Gaston felt the thick linen under his rough fingers. He could tell it was much higher quality than any fabric he had ever seen. After the curtain hung in place without need for extra support, Gaston went to sit down.

"So where are you from, Monsieur Jacques?" The name was still taking awhile to register.

"Oh, right. Well uh. I also traveled a little, mainly just through small farming towns in southern France." Gaston tried to force a smile of confirmation but did it nervously as he knew it might make his already frightening face more frightening.

"Ah, well then, what lead you here?" Gaston had not planned to answer this many questions. How was he going to stay consistent with his web of lies?

"Uh I've just been traveling around, and I'm tired. I wanted a place to rest."

"I understand. I have been looking a long time for a nice place to stay. My wife has been a great comfort to have along the way." Gaston felt a sudden pang of longing. He could have had a wife, had none of this happened. He was entirely unsure what he had done to deserve this. Occasionally throughout the day, the witches' voices rang in his head, repeating many of the same lines over and over. Gaston would attempt to shove the thoughts out of his mind, hoping they would discontinue, but they would always come creeping back.

"So Jacob, do you want to come outside?" Gaston thought some fresh air would help him clear his mind.

"Not really, I have some work to get to." Gaston could not imagine what kind of work the man had to do sitting alone in his room. He left the room, and Jacob, in search of the courtyard. On his way he bumped into a smaller stout man.

"Oh excuse me monsieur, you must be the new guest at the castle, monsieur Jacques?" Gaston nodded hoping the acknowledgement of his new name would become easier. "Well I am Cogsworth. It is my pleasure to meet you." Cogsworth leaned in a sort of awkward curtsey. Gaston was unsure of this greeting, but attempted to do it back just in case he might get kicked out for being rude.

"Well, Cogsworth, do you know where the courtyard is?"

"Which one?" Gaston was a little shocked by the answer.

"Excuse me?"

"Which one Monsieur, there are three?" Gaston knew the castle was large, but large enough for three courtyards? How much of this place were they renovating?

"Uh well, the closest one." Cogsworth nodded and twitted off expecting Gaston to follow. Gaston now saw what Adam was talking about. Many of the rooms were blocked off with heavy pieces of lumber and some with sheets. This was some really intense remodeling. Gaston continued to follow Cogsworth through a series of walkways until they were finally outside. The air was fresh, and the sun poured down over the garden. Benches lined the edges and a beautiful carved fountain of a maiden pouring water served as the centerpiece. The whole setting was magnificent. Gaston looked over the garden to see the mixture of exotic plants and flowers, many of which were probably foreign imports. Gaston sat down on the bench

"Do you want me to leave you here, monsieur?" Gaston thought for a moment.

"Well you can stay." Cogsworth looked uncomfortable.

"Thank you sir, but I have some important business to attend to." Cogsworth ran off without letting Gaston reply. Everyone seemed to have important business. Gaston didn't understand. He was the one who had a spell to break with a limited amount of time and he did not have all these tasks to do like everyone else. As Gaston sat on the bench, he looked at the ground, seeing a small ant running over the pathway. Gaston attempted to squish it, but found his foot hovering just above the ground. He really couldn't hurt a fly.

Belle and Shira headed into town on a horse drawn chariot. The ride was incredibly bumpy and Shira could feel herself getting nauseous.

"Shira, you seem really quiet." Belle looked at her waiting for her to say something.

"Well. I guess I don't have much to say." She looked out the window longingly.

"I'm sure you do. I have a lot to say, even though many men think women shouldn't speak." She glanced at Shira, waiting.

"I speak more with women than men." Shira had the same amount of accent as her husband.

Belle assumed this had to be so, since she couldn't see how Shira could speak any less. "Well, why?"

"Belle, do you love your husband?" Shira looked at her. Belle tried to hide her shock at such a forward question from such a shy girl.

"Of course I do. Don't you love your husband?" Belle was worried about what kind of answer Shira would give.

"Well, yes. I have grown to love him, but I don't know if I'm in love with him. Are you in love with your husband Belle?" Shira's curiosity was clear.

"Yes, Shira, I believe I am." Shira smiled at her as if saying, _if you only knew._

The carriage stopped. "Oh wow. We're here already. I have the grocery list. Can you read at all?" Belle thought maybe Shira would be excited to take some responsibility.

"I cannot read much French. Perhaps I follow you?" Shira looked terrified to go out into the city alone.

"Of course." Belle and Shira headed into the town. Some people recognized Belle and exchanged quick greetings, but everyone seemed to be in a hurry to run their own errands. "All right, well we need some eggs, and some flour." Belle continued to read off the list as they picked up each item. They weren't all food items though. The list included some fabrics such as wool and muslin, as well as some tools her father would need for his inventions. As they walked through the town, Belle saw a familiar face who she wasn't particularly fond of.

"Lefou." Belle shouted towards him, but as soon as he recognized her voice, he darted away. Belle turned to Shira. "Let's follow him." Belle was excited about the chase. The two women ran after him. Shira found herself enjoying the chase in the small quiet town. Belle finally caught up with him as he struggled to open the door. _Why did I go out?_ Lefou was internally scolding himself as Belle approached from behind him.

"Lefou, I need to talk to you." A part of Belle wanted to yell at him for everything he had done in the past, but she contained herself. After the long chase she realized it wasn't worth it. He was probably suffering over Gaston's death. She glanced over at him, pity in her eyes, but she needed to speak with him. "Lefou, I'm sorry about what happened."

Lefou was relieved that she wasn't going to pick on him. "It's all right." Lefou looked slightly more comfortable.

"But I need to ask you. The night when it all happened, did you see it?"

"See what?" Belle and Adam had discussed it the moment after they saw it. "Well Lefou, no one else in the castle saw it, but after Adam, the prince, and I went inside, we saw a bolt of light shoot down by the window, and well I wanted to know if you had any insight as to what it was." Belle looked so innocent and kind and Lefou almost felt bad taking part in Gaston's evil plan.

"Uh Belle, I'm sorry. I didn't see anything." Lefou was confused about the prince and the whole story but decided not to push into a matter that wasn't his business.

"All right, well I suppose we'll see you later." Belle smiled and led Shira off.

"What was that about?" Shira looked mildly horrified.

"Oh Shira, I'll tell you about it over dinner. I bet Jacob would like to hear the story as well." They climbed into the carriage and headed back to the castle.


	7. Chapter 7

Gaston stared at the fountain, contemplating the events that had passed. For once he really had time to think. The water came down like silk, twisting and twirling within itself as it cascaded down from the maiden's vase. Gaston wondered why the beast wasn't around, where he could have been. Then an idea found its way to him. _I killed him._ Gaston remembered the night when it all happened. The last image he had on his way towards the earth was the knife jutting out of the waist of the monster. He remembered the droplets of blood following him down. _I killed the beast._ The thought almost upset him, but something about it didn't make sense. _Why did those witches tell me I have to apologize to both of them if he's dead?_ He sat wondering. So many pieces weren't fitting together. If Belle loved the beast, why wasn't she sad about his death? The questions came violently forth in his head. Gaston was getting frustrated. He had this task to do. He was far from home, alone and confused. It had been a long time since he felt like this. Another dark memory flooded through him.

He was probably about four at the time. Most of the memories from this point at his life were gone. This memory was extremely unclear and vague, a swirling mix of colors and sounds, that made almost no sense, except for a few seconds. The image of his mother's face was so beautiful, but so distant, so cold. He could remember reaching for her, her warm smile, her soft hands. His mother placed the golden necklace around his neck. This was a memory of safety of warmth, but it was short lived. Loud noises interrupted and overtook the moments of happiness. Yelling and violence erupted around Gaston. He could remember reaching and crying as his mother was torn away from him. This was the last memory he had of her and the last memory he had of crying.

He had spent the last years of his life compressing his pain, hiding it, until he could feel it no longer, but now it was slowly returning. The aching inside of him so long gone was slowly returning. He continued to try to repress it, hoping for an interruption to his loneliness. At that moment, what he wanted came.

"Jacques!" A child's voice came booming at him. Gaston almost thought it was his own memory of himself yelling. "Jacques! You wanna play a game with me? Everyone else is busy!"

On any other day, playing with a little kid would be the last thing Gaston would ever consider, but now it came as a great relief. Gaston looked up to see Chip's gleaming eyes. His childish innocence made Gaston feel almost envious. Right now he would have done anything to return to that time in his own life. Chip's face was warm, inviting, so trusting. Gaston found himself amazed that Chip's eyes showed no judgment, only a desire for a friend. Gaston felt almost touched by it. "Sure, what game?" Gaston tried to sound as kind as he could. It had been along time since he had had talked to a child.

"Well I've gotten really good at chess. Maurice and I played it a lot the past few days, but he's working on an invention today. I can beat all my brothers and sisters. I need a better opponent. Yeah, so follow me. I have a really cool chess set." Gaston lifted himself from the bench and followed Chip to a room that looked quite like a childhood fantasy. Every piece of it looked like it came from some far off place in another part of the world. Huge stuffed animals adorned the bed, and random trinkets decorated the shelves and dressers. Gaston wished he had a room like this as a kid.

"This is my room. Do you want to see my toys?"

"Uh I thought we were going to play chess." Gaston was not really interested in seeing Chip's toys. He was going to be nice, not that nice.

"Well, yeah ok." Chip looked a little disappointed. He quickly cleared the expression from his face, jumped up, ran across the room, and grabbed a folding chessboard, and a wooden box. "So you know how to play chess right?"

Gaston looked at him. It had been awhile since he had played chess. He remembered liking the game as a kid. He and Lefou used to play it. "Well, it's been awhile but yeah, I know how. Of course I know how." Gaston didn't want lessons from a ten year old.

"All right, but if I cream you, don't say I didn't warn you." Gaston had to fight himself from laughing at this statement. Chip opened the box to reveal beautiful hand carved ivory chess pieces. "My grandpa got these from India on a trip with the king. It was a long time ago. He left these for me." Chip began to set up the board. Gaston looked at the intricate carvings on the pieces. They were much nicer than all the wooden chess sets he had seen before, each one unique. As he looked over them he noticed that all the pieces had different facial expressions, even the knight's horse. He couldn't believe the skill that went into the set. The pawns were each little carved warriors, holding a set of swords across their chests. The castle pieces had little maidens carved in the towers. The set was almost mystical and definitely the most amazing part of everything Gaston had seen in Chip's room.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Chip could see Gaston's intrigue.

"Yeah, for a chess set." Gaston didn't want Chip to make any assumptions about him.

"All right lets go. I get the first move since I'm the youngest." Chip launched his hand to a piece.

"What kind of rule is that?" Gaston was used to going first because, well, he was Gaston. However, things were different now. Now he was Jacques. "Uh, I mean. Ok you first." He wasn't sure how well he'd covered that, but what would Chip care?

"Well if you really want to go-"

Gaston interrupted him. "No, you go. I was just kidding." He felt sort of uncomfortable at this point. He actually almost started a fight with a ten year old about who would go first in a game of chess.

"Ok, I'll move this one." The game had begun. Chip moved each piece spending moments before thinking carefully. Gaston had sort of forgotten how to play and when Chip caught him messing up, he would respond with, "Yeah, I was just testing you." It probably became obvious that wasn't the case after about 6 recurrences of this, but Gaston was not going to lower his wall anytime soon. The game continued, and move after move Gaston continued doing worse and worse.

"Checkmate." Chip had a delighted expression.

"You cheated." Gaston could not believe he lost, not that this was his game, but Gaston never lost anything.

"No, did you want me to let you win?" Chip giggled. Gaston almost said yes, but his new identity struck him again. How was he ever going to reveal himself?

"No. Ok fine you won, but I want a rematch." Gaston was determined to beat him next time. He wasn't going to suffer another loss to a ten year old. Then a warm motherly voice chimed in through the doorway.

"Chip dinner's ready." Mrs. Potts came in. "Oh my Jacques, how embarrassing! Chip, why didn't you clean your room if you were going to have a guest in it?" Chip looked a little embarrassed.

"Mom, you don't have to talk about it in front of him." Chip said this as if Gaston couldn't hear him. Gaston wondered if Chip thought that was the case as well.

"Ah, don't worry. I never cleaned my room as a kid." It was true. Gaston ran away from his uncle's at around 15 and before that he often spent the nights at Lefou's house. His uncle was usually to drunk to notice the mess anyway.

"Jacques, don't be a bad influence." The brusque quality in Mrs. Pott's voice was almost surprising. Gaston wasn't really sure how to respond.

"So, what's for dinner?" This was his awkward attempt at a cover up. He seemed to be having a lot of those that day.

"I don't know. The chef's said he's going to surprise us. I'm sorry dinner's so late. It took Belle and Shira a long time to shop for groceries."

Gaston thought about what she said. "What? Where did they shop?" _What if they saw Lefou? What if he told them everything? _

"They just went to town. Where else would they go, Paris?" Mrs. Potts looked a little shocked at her own sarcasm. "Sorry dear, that just seemed like a silly question. It's been a long day. I need to eat something." Mrs. Potts went ahead downstairs towards the dining room. Chip jumped up to follow. As Gaston took another look at the chess pieces, he wondered what would wait for him in the dining room. He hoped to himself that Lefou hadn't ruined everything by doing something dumb, but braced himself for the worst case scenario as he followed the others to dinner.


	8. Chapter 8

Gaston tried to slow the walk down the staircase as much as he could. The last thing he wanted to do was face the entire population of the castle and find they all knew what happened. He clung desperately to the hope that everything went okay and no one knew. He entered the room and was relieved to see that not everyone had made it to the dinner table. This gave him more time to worry and make up an alibi in his head. All the people trickled slowly in. Chip was patting the spot next to him.

"Come on Jacques, sit next to me! I saved a seat." Chip seemed so excited to have a new game buddy in the castle. It was not as if all the seats were taken, or many of them at all for that matter, and the table seemed to stretch across hundreds of feet. Gaston was wondering how conversation could make it across the ends of the table. He went to sit by Chip. After all what was else could he do? Chip smiled and began chattering about how many toys he had and how Maurice said he was going to make him a toy that could move by running on coal. Gaston wasn't very interested. Instead he remained focused on every face and person that entered the room. He began to wonder how many individuals the castle housed. It did not surprise him anymore that there was not enough room for him to have his own. If everyone coming in had their own room, the castle must have been a lot larger than Gaston had witnessed.

Gaston noticed a little girl plop down beside Chip. She began humming and looked like she was off in her own world. Her golden hair seemed to dangle in her eyes. She looked about seven. Lumiere and Cogsworth entered along with a scantily clad brunette who draped herself all over Lumiere. Gaston had to look away when she came in. He did not want a girl like that to see him in his new form.

"Oh Lumiere, who is zis new guest? We are so popular!" The cute woman let out an almost seductive giggle.

"Ah, Babette, zis is Jacques. He came zis morning. How could I have forgotten to tell you?" Lumiere smiled affectionately. Babette bounced over towards Gaston.

"Well how rude of me not to introduce myself! I am Babette!" Gaston felt a strong sense of discomfort as her cleavage plunged in his face. This was the worst time and place for this situation. Gaston smiled up at her and introduced himself, shocked when she didn't run with horror after seeing his face. _Why isn't anyone here terrified of me like they were in the town? _ Things seemed to become endlessly more confusing.

Belle, Shira, Jacob and Adam finally entered the room, and everyone then rushed to their seats. Shira took off her coat, placing it over the chair before she sat down. Gaston noticed a small bruise on her forearm. It was so clear against her pale skin. Gaston found himself almost entranced with her. Her features were so unique and exquisite. She looked up towards her husband Jacob as he sat beside her. Gaston felt almost sick as he looked at the couples around him, being the lone single man next to Chip.

He realized he had more important things to worry about. At any moment, Belle might tell everyone the secret, and Gaston would have to go back outside, thus ruining any possibility of breaking the curse.

"Everyone, we have something important to tell our guests," Belle voiced over the murmurs at the table. Gaston sunk in his chair fearing the worst. "I think a good story over dinner would be the one of the enchantment that befell this castle. I told Shira I would explain it, and I think Jacob and Jacques would be happy to hear it as well." Gaston let out a breath of relief and found curiosity taking the place of fear. He remembered hearing about the enchantment earlier in the day but it confused him.

Adam began to tell the story of the castle, how he was transformed into a beast, the rose, how he had to break the spell. Everyone at the table began to chime in with their own experiences in the story. Gaston saw everything coming together. He had not killed the beast. The beast was in fact in quite the same predicament as he was, but how did the beast survive the stabbing? Gaston did not want to give away his true identity so he tried to address the matter in a roundabout way.

"So what exactly happened when the spell was broken?" Gaston could not believe how much everything was making sense.

"Well that's the best part of the story." Adam smiled.

"A group of people from the town invaded the castle. The leader was a man named Gaston. I guess it was my fault really, for causing him to come here. I tried to explain that the beast was kind and gentle, but no one listened." Belle continued on. Gaston felt almost sick with discomfort being the bad guy in the story. This never happened to him. He had always been a hero. He could not agree that he was a bad guy. _If they had seen it from my side, they would know,_ Gaston thought to himself. Finally he felt compelled to ask the question.

"So if this guy Gaston came back, would you forgive him?" Gaston hoped they couldn't see through his question.

Belle and Adam exchanged looks. Adam leaned forward. "The man tried to kill me. How can I forgive someone for that?" A deepening anger entered his voice. He calmed himself as he thought further about the question. "But I guess, had it not been for him, the spell might never have been broken." Adam continued to contemplate looking as though this was the first time he rethought that night.

Belle chimed in. "Well I don't necessarily think he deserved the fate he received, but I mean I don't know that I could forgive him for all the cruel things he's done, and what he tried to do to my father." Belle looked almost teary. Gaston couldn't even look at them anymore. He felt almost ashamed. He had never looked at it from their side, and here they were letting him, a hideous looking stranger, the culprit they spoke of, into their home. Everything was making sense and it was only making Gaston feel worse.

"That's a good question though Jacques, I'd never really put much thought into it." Adam smiled and continued to contemplate.

"That's true, why were you interested?" Belle looked at him inquisitively.

"Oh, it was just a thought." Gaston wished he could be invisible now more than ever. He felt so eerily uncomfortable. He just focused on his food to avoid the emotions that were flooding his mind. After the big story, small conversations began to arise around the dinner table. Chip began arguing with the girl beside him and Mrs. Potts sat on the other side of him talking to Maurice. Gaston was totally isolated in his state of discomfort.

He glanced around the table and heard a piece of Belle's conversation that caught his interest.

"Adam, what about that bolt of light that came after the curse was broken? Why did it happen?" Gaston had to strain his ears to hear them over the discussion.

Adam's voice entered solemnly. "Belle I wish I knew. Here's the weirdest thing. A bolt of light just like that one came down when the enchantment fell on the castle." Adam continued, but Gaston couldn't make out any more of what he said.

"Chip I think it's past your bedtime." Mrs. Potts blurted over the crowd.

"But mama…" Chip whined.

"And you too Cecilia." The little girl looked down. Chip, Cecilia, and four other little children ran out towards their rooms. Gaston was dreading going to bed. He knew he would spend the time there working himself into a deeper depression.

"Shira I think we should get to bed too." Jacob looked down at her, beckoning her to come. She blindly followed. Gaston knew he had better head to bed as well, dreading the silent darkness that awaited him there. He followed them to the room and climbed into his bed, checking on the rose he hid beneath it. It was still in good condition. He lay there with horrible images and thoughts poking at him through the space. His worries danced in circles around him. He overheard talking on the other side of the curtain, then a crash, and lastly a thud of skin against skin. _Oh god, are they really doing that now?_ Gaston shoved the pillow over his head, hoping that sleep would pull him out of his depression and away to a more comforting world.


	9. Chapter 9

Adam woke up from his sleep drenched in sweat. Making his way towards the window, he tried to recollect himself. He looked behind him to see if the episode had woken Belle, but she lay there still and asleep. Adam forced open the window. The cool night air brushed his cheek. His nightmare was a memory that had not bothered him in years. Now he had to wonder why it came back. He thought about it, the night his parents left the castle in a chariot. His mother squeezed him, kissing his forehead.

"Be strong for us dear." She kissed him again.

His father leaned over to him. "Adam, whatever happens to us tonight, you must take care of the castle. All right?" Adam nodded. His father squeezed his arms tightly, tears pooling at the ends of his eyes. Adam could see his parents struggling not to cry. That was the last night he saw them alive. Adam thought about it now. The memory was hurting him. He knew he needed to talk to Belle about it. She deserved to know what happened that night. _I'll tell her later_, he thought. He walked to the bed climbed in and squeezed Belle to him tightly. He was so glad to have her there with him that night. Resting his head against her shoulder, he fell asleep.

Gaston woke up to the loud raucous of screaming children.

"I've cornered you now George!" The familiar voice of Chip came violently through the door.

"Al1 right matees. George, I, captain Cecilia order you to walk the plank." The children growled. Gaston sat up in his bed unsure what time it was. He approached the door wanting to yell at the children to be quiet. Then he remembered his own childhood. He would never have listened to an adult telling him to be quiet, and the only result of it would be the children's resentment. He gave up on the thought and decided to get something to eat. He nudged open the door.

"Hey Jacques, you wanna play pirates with us?" Chip looked excited to see him.

"Uh I need to eat something." Gaston felt uncomfortable playing games with a bunch of kids. He would not be reduced to it, he decided. _Chess is okay, but not this._ He walked towards the kitchen hoping there would be something there. Mrs. Potts was talking to the chef. Gaston looked around, but could not see any food. He felt pretty overwhelmed with hunger.

"Mrs. Potts, sorry to interrupt, but is there anything to eat?" He stood awkwardly, waiting for an answer. Mrs. Potts turned to him.

"Well dearie, there are some crepes left in the pan. I think we have some fruit. Just go help yourself." Mrs. Potts smiled and resumed her conversation with the chef. Gaston found himself once again amazed at their hospitality. He glanced around for the food. Finally finding it, he dug in heartily. It tasted delicious. _Man this guy really knows how to cook_. Gaston wondered what he would do for the day today. Unlike before, when he was handsome and perpetually busy, he now found it hard to find things to do. He headed back towards the room to see if Jacob or Shira were busy in there. When he got there the room was quiet. He peeked around the curtain to see if they were still asleep. Neither one of them was there, so he proceeded to poke around a bit. He could not resist. He noticed a book on the table. He lifted it up to look inside, but the language in it was entirely unfamiliar. He placed it back down, turning his focus to a horn on a small table by the wall. Gaston heard footsteps behind him.

"Jacques, you were interested in our belongings?" Gaston turned around slowly, finding himself in yet another awkward situation. Jacob's eyes were looking directly at him.

"Hello Jacob." Gaston swallowed.

"So what have you found?" Jacob said, somewhat defensively.

"Well uh, I used to hunt a lot. Is that horn a hunting trophy of yours?" Gaston wasn't sure why someone would choose just to keep the horn and not the whole head. _Well, to each their own, I guess._

Jacob smiled. "Yes. You like to hunt?" Jacob looked less irritated.

Gaston wasn't sure how to respond. He used to like hunting, but now he couldn't hurt a fly. "Well, I haven't gotten to do much lately, but I am fond of hunting." Shira entered the room behind the two of them. Seeing Gaston she quickly wrapped a shawl around her shoulders.

"Well that is nice." Jacob looked over at Shira somewhat impatiently, as she quietly headed towards him. She looked as beautiful as always, and her dark eyes were entrancing. Gaston looked at the two of them, wondering exactly what Shira saw in a man like Jacob. Gaston watched as Jacob sat down by the table.

"So what do you two plan to do today?" The question was for both of them, but Gaston was looking directly at Shira.

"I don't know, perhaps work on my writing." Jacob took over the conversation. "Why, did you need something?"

"Well I uh, just thought if you wanted to do something, we could go for a walk or something." Gaston looked at them awkwardly.

Then for the first time Gaston had ever seen, Shira spoke. "Yes," she answered timidly, "I think that would be nice." She had an even thicker accent than her husband, but Gaston found it somewhat cute. He thought he could see a smile appearing, but he was not sure.

"Shira, why do you want to go walking? What do you need to do that for?" Jacob sounded almost whiny. She looked back at him.

"I…I think it would be nice." She seemed fairly set on taking the walk.

"All right, all right. Let's take a walk." Jacob groaned as he lifted himself and grudgingly headed towards the door. The three of them went outside, and walked around the castle yards relatively quietly, except for Jacob's ongoing complaining.

"Oh, my back! Why is it so hot?" He continued his complaints the entire way. Shira looked as though she was in her own world for the time that they were outside, and Gaston found himself watching her. They continued walking for awhile, until Jacob's whining bothered them enough to go inside. When they arrived back inside Gaston could see Chip waiting for him.

"Everyone got tired of playing pirates. Do you want to play chess with me?" Gaston didn't want to leave Shira, but he had to face reality. She was with another man, married in fact. Gaston was hideous. She was beautiful, and he had to stop this now.

"Yeah sure lets go." Gaston followed Chip to his room. He could hear the two of them behind them.

"Well that was nice Shira." Gaston was surprised there was no sarcasm. As much as Jacob complained, he apparently enjoyed the walk. Gaston moved his thoughts to the chess game, hoping he wouldn't lose again.


	10. Chapter 10

"Checkmate!" Chip yelled excitedly. Gaston was upset by another loss to a kid. He sat staring at the pieces wondering what he did wrong this time. Chip showed him a couple of toys in his room, and then they headed down to dinner.

When they reached the table, they could see they were late. Everyone was sitting, talking and eating.

"Chip why didn't your mother come get us?" Gaston whispered the words to him awkwardly. Chip looked a little guilty.

"Oops, she told me I had to be more responsible, and I needed to be on time to dinner without her telling me tonight." The two of them turned to see Mrs. Potts angry expression.

"This wine is wonderful!" Jacob lifted his glass. "To life!" Everyone laughed and smiled raising their glasses to the toast.

"To life!" They all yelled. The only one who did not yell was Shira. Gaston noticed in fact that she looked slightly worried. Gaston didn't think much of it. He was happy to have dinner that night. Everyone was. There was a happy feel overall in the room that night. The dinner buzzed with conversation.

Finally the conversations died down, and slowly everyone left the table. Gaston headed back to his room.

That night continued just like the last one, and Gaston covered his head again. Night after night, it was the same thing. Finally Gaston gave up, and didn't bother covering his head with the pillow. As he tried to fall asleep, he noticed something he hadn't before. He could hear whimpering on the other side of the curtain. Normally when they spoke it was in another language, but tonight he could hear them speaking in French.

"Shira, the word is bottle! Why are you so stupid? You need to learn the language!" Gaston could hear Jacob's voice rising over the curtain.

"Please Jacob, you've been drinking." Shira's voice was trembling, as though she had been crying. Gaston had noticed that Jacob drank a lot of wine at the dinners. The same dull thud he had heard the nights before happened again over and over. Gaston finally realized what was going on. They had not been making sweet love every night. They were not a cute happy couple. Gaston could see the image of his uncle as he heard Jacob's yelling. Gaston was the only witness to this crime. How did he not see it earlier? Shira had a number of bruises. He wanted to go over there and hit Jacob for what he was doing, but he couldn't do anything. He couldn't hurt anyone.

How could this man harm such a beautiful quiet woman? As Gaston lay in bed, he began to wonder whether he would have beaten his own wife. He was not incredibly respectful towards women, but could he bring himself to hit one? Shira never did anything. She was quiet and followed orders. To Gaston, she seemed like the perfect wife. He lay there confused and upset. He had to tell someone, but would it help? He wasn't sure, but he didn't like hearing her cry like that, muffling screams as her husband beat her.

Gaston was no saint, but even he recognized that this was wrong. Memories overwhelmed him. He was getting weaker as they weighed him down. His conscience grew heavy. He felt himself falling asleep, dreaming of another memory from long ago.

He was thirteen at the time and he had gotten pretty good at hunting. He arrived home that night carrying in a large pheasant.

"Uncle, I brought dinner." By this time in his life Gaston knew not to expect a response from his uncle He never knew what the man might be busy doing. Gaston heard heavy footsteps.

"Looks good kid." His uncle grabbed the bird and proceeded to remove the feathers. "Too bad we don't have a woman in the house to do this work. Gaston, will you get a pot boiling over the fireplace?" Gaston hurried over to the fireplace to light it. He grabbed the cooking pot which was left in the hallway and hung it over the fire. Hurrying, he ran to the well with two buckets to get some water. He saw the other kids his age playing outside. He wished he could be playing, but he somehow felt indebted to his uncle. He had to do a lot of housework, since it was just the two of them.

Lefou ran over to him. "Hey Gaston, you gotta see this!"

"Lefou I have to help get dinner ready. I'll look at it some other time." Gaston lifted the heavy buckets full of water onto his back.

"Gaston, you gotta see it!" He began to whine.

"No Lefou!" Gaston snapped back at him and carried the water home. His uncle lifted a bottle of ale to his lips.

"Took you long enough kid. Your mother really didn't teach you any work skills. Not much of a mother, if I say so. I don't know why my brother married that woman." Gaston couldn't take it when his uncle started in about his mother, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything about it. "Hah, he really should've pounded that woman into shape. A few good beatings and maybe she wouldn't have gotten herself killed. The stupid whore." Gaston couldn't handle it anymore.

"Don't talk about my mother that way!" Gaston yelled. She was the only person he could remember loving.

"Don't talk back to me boy!" Gaston's uncle pulled out his belt and whipped him across the back. The pain burned heavily and Gaston bit his lip as he fought the ache. Gaston had to do something. That night, after his uncle went to sleep, Gaston grabbed a knife and headed to the room. Gaston watched him sleeping serenely. The time was opportune. He stood over his uncle, his neck facing the open air. Gaston trembled with the knife. _Just one swipe and he'll be gone._ He couldn't bring himself to do it. He dropped the knife and left the house running, his breath heavy in his throat. After what felt like hours of running, he reached an abandoned farmhouse. He spent the night there, safe and alone, promising himself that one day he would get back at the man, the man he called his uncle

Gaston turned over in bed, shaking off the memory, hoping things would get better again. He fought his pain and memories, as he reached for the safety and painlessness of sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

The air was crisp and still as Belle lay next to Adam, her hand stroking the back of his shoulder. He rolled over to look at her.

"What's wrong Adam?" She looked at him, eyes full of compassion. She could see something was bothering him.

"Nothing," he growled, turning back over.

"Adam, I know something's wrong. Please tell me." She hated to see him upset like this. He turned and stared blankly at the ceiling and proceeded to let out a deep breath.

"Belle I just…something weird is going on now. I thought everything was perfect once the spell was broken, but something's not right. I don't know. I've had nightmares the last couple nights, about the death of my parents." He continued to look at the ceiling as though he had been talking to himself.

"Adam, if you don't want to talk about it, I understand. I just hate seeing you upset like this." She focused on him, hoping he might turn to make direct eye contact, but he continued in his distant stare skyward.

"Belle, my parents were killed. I…I used to blame myself for it. I still do sometimes, but it's been really bad lately. The memory just keeps haunting me. I don't know why." Adam lay still. Belle reached over, clasping his hand.

"Adam, whatever's hurting you… just know I'm here to help you." She squeezed his hand tightly in hers. "You can talk to me about anything, you know that right?"

Adam let out a deep breath and turning towards Belle, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her tenderly. "Belle, please don't ever get yourself killed. I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you." He looked into her eyes.

"I'll try my best not to." She smiled and curled up in his arms. He kissed her forehead and held her closely, never wanting to let go.

Gaston woke up the next morning relieved that a week had finally passed. Today he would get to see Lefou and update him on the past week of events. Images of Shira getting beaten and crying hung in his head. It filled him with anger, especially knowing he could not do anything about it. He tried to push the thought from his mind as he concentrated on his plans for the day. He lay for a few minutes cherishing the moments of comfort in the bed before he would have to face a new day. However he was happy to be seeing Lefou, and escaping the confines of the castle. He forced himself up from the bed. Groggily he headed over to his bags and threw on a loose pair of pants, an old white shirt and a dark blue tailcoat. He wandered into the hallway. The house was quiet. Gaston assumed everyone was still sleeping. He woke up unusually early since he was so anxious. On his way to the kitchen he found himself in front of the chef, a hurly tall man with an abundant amount of facial hair.

"Why monsieur, you're up early." The chef smiled. "Do you want anything to eat? I was about to start breakfast." The chef pulled some scary looking equipment out ready to start his procedure.

"Uh…sure.". Gaston forced an awkward smile, something he was starting to get used to doing. The chef pulled out some shiny knives and began a violent sequence of chopping, slicing, shaving, and every other possible combination of knife movements. Gaston worried about the possibility of a knife flying in his direction. He was relatively relieved when the cutting movements stopped. The chef then cranked up an intense fire and whipped out a series of pots an pans. In what seemed like seconds he whipped up an amazing looking omelet.

"Viola, here you are Jacques. I hope you enjoy." Gaston took the plate in a state of awe. He sat down to eat it. As he took in the first piece, the burst of flavor shocked him. He could not remember the last time he tasted something so delicious.

"You like it, Monsieur?" Gaston was too busy stuffing his face to answer.

"Delicious," he blurted between bites. Gaston wasn't sure how clear he sounded over his heavy chomps.

After finishing his hearty breakfast Gaston head towards the door. "Well, thanks. I'm going for a walk." He walked outside letting out a sigh, both happy and relieved to get outside away from all the awkwardness and emotional buildup within the castle. Taking in a breath of air, he headed towards the gate. He opened it as quietly as he could in an attempt not to disturb the castle inhabitants. He looked around for Lefou, but couldn't spot him anywhere. He continued to wander further into the forest. He moved forward and a golden shimmer swirled about. _Not again._ Gaston thought one terrible experience was enough. An androgynous figure formed. The face looked directly at Gaston, and exposed a grim smile.

"I have some unfortunate news to bring you." The voice fit the figure. Gaston was not sure how his situation could get much worse. He couldn't force out a response either. The eyes peered deep into his. They were a deep green with hints of red sparkling throughout. The nose was almost invisible against the pale skin. Gaston looked patiently, the worry apparent in his expression.

"The rose you were given, do you still have it?" Gaston nodded, not knowing what else to do.

"Is it here?" The figure's expression turned to anger.

"No." Gaston stared frightened at the prospect of his situation worsening. The face grew angrier, but quickly removed any sense of emotion.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. I have come to inform you about some, as I said earlier, disconcerting news. The rose given to you will not bloom until your 30th birthday. It will only bloom until a year after it was bestowed upon you. And unfortunately, when fate sets a spell, it cannot be revoked. You have less than a year to complete your tasks. I recommend you hurry. Well I must be going. Good day." The figure vanished before Gaston could even question him.

Gaston stood completely shocked, and once again in denial. How could he fulfill this task in a year? Before today, he had almost ten years. He decided to push the thought out of his mind and headed forward to find Lefou. He didn't have to walk far. Gaston was relieved to see Lefou standing back at the gate waiting.

"Sorry I'm late Gaston. I got held up in town. It's this thief. Gaston, something's wrong back in town. Something's….changed." Gaston looked at him questioningly. He lifted a twig from the ground and began twirling it to prevent himself from displaying any emotion in front of Lefou.

"Like what?" Gaston was interested, but did not want to look that way.

"Well, I dunno. People have been worrying a lot more about money lately. I mean, you've heard about the raise in taxes right?" Gaston had not heard much about anything outside of the castle.

"Well, no." Lefou's expression was a mixture of puzzlement and dark excitement.

"Well there have just been informants coming around, raising the taxes for farmers and workers. Basically everyone in town is affected by it. Geeze, Gaston, what have you been doing back at the castle?"

"Well, not much, actually." Gaston proceeded to summarize the previous past occurrences at the castle, but purposely left Shira and Jacob out of the picture. The last thing he wanted was a barrage of questions from Lefou leading him to expose his feelings.

"So you haven't made any headway in the forgiveness route?" Gaston shook his head in response.

"What about the love thing? I saw Belle in town with another girl last week. Did you see her?" Gaston had forgotten about the whole incident. He thought longingly about Shira, and anger filled him as he thought about Jacob hitting her at night, but he didn't want to tell Lefou about any of it.

"No, Lefou I don't know who you're talking about. It was probably just a girl from town or something." Gaston hoped Lefou wouldn't push the conversation further. He thought about telling Lefou about the earlier incident that day with the rose. Deciding against it, he pushed the topic in another direction. "The food is fantastic at the castle though Lefou." Lefou put on his usual face of interest and they talked about food which led into hunting, which unfortunately led back to women. _I just can't get out of this, can I?_ He figured there was a way he could escape though. He didn't have to talk about himself. A while ago he would have never asked Lefou about his own life, but now, he wanted to talk about anything but himself.

"So, uh, Lefou, have you met any girls, you know, now that I'm not there to take them?" Gaston forced a laugh but it felt uncomfortably awkward.

Lefou looked shocked at the question, but responded with excitement. "Well no, not really. There is this one girl. Do you remember Marie Vognette?" Gaston remembered the girl. She wasn't very attractive. However she was very good looking compared to Gaston at this point.

"Oh yeah. Is she interested in you?" Gaston found himself actually interested, unlike his expectation of being bored out of his mind.

"Well, actually she asked about you, but we talked for awhile. I told her that I didn't know what happened to you. She seemed pretty talkative. I don't know Gaston, how do you know if there's something there?" Gaston chuckled, feeling similar to Lefou at this point, looking the way he did.

"I dunno actually. You just have to go for it, Lefou. Take a risk. I mean if a girl talked to me, I'd just go for it. It always seemed to work." Gaston could see Lefou thinking.

"All right, maybe I'll try tomorrow." Lefou smiled, looking excited. Gaston found himself feeling somewhat happy for him.

"All right, well, I better get back to the castle. I don't want everyone to get suspicious of me. We'll meet again, same time next week, okay?"

"All right Gaston, wish me luck!" Lefou almost danced off. Gaston however trudged back to the castle, returning to the burdens he had to carry.


	12. Chapter 12

(Before you begin this chapter, you need to go back and reread chapter 11, if you haven't. I have updated it, and you will be very confused if you don't read it. Anyways, on with the story…)

Gaston wandered through the gate rethinking the events of earlier that day. He walked towards the castle. The thought of gaining forgiveness and finding love within a year seemed impossible. Depression overtook him, encasing him fully. Lefou's earlier comment about the thief lodged itself in his mind, but other thoughts took priority. He could barely focus on returning to the castle as fear and worry clouded his mind. He made his way through the door intent on going to his room to sleep away the pain, despite the fact that it was midday. He forced open the front door which unwillingly let him through.

"That was a long walk Jacques." The last person Gaston wanted to talk to was Chip. "Chef told me you were going on a walk. I've been waiting all day. No one here wants to play with me. Everyone's talking about the redecorating. It's so boring!" Chip began to fumble with his chess set. "So you going to play with me?" Chip's eyes were gleaming.

"Not now Chip. I need to think." Gaston wanted to be alone. "I'm stressed right now. I'll play with you later or tomorrow, okay?" Gaston tried not to sound irritated, but looking at Chip's expression, he could see he still came off that way.

"Oh….I understand." Chip looked down defeated and slowly trudged back to his room carrying the chess set. Gaston felt a little guilty, but he knew he had problems of his own to sort with. He wandered back to his room, surprised to see Shira and Jacob weren't there. _Well, I guess they went out._ Gaston sat down on the bed, noticing his face in the mirror. It disgusted him. _Who could ever learn to love me?_

He flopped back on the bed facing the ceiling. The silence sheathed him, and his mind slowly became clearer. He could see Shira's face. The image was trapped in his head. He kept seeing her, smiling at him. Then Jacob would come and sling her body over the bedside table like a rag doll, violently forcing his arms, belts, anything that could be a weapon over her backside. Gaston could see himself frozen, unable to stop anything. He couldn't help but wonder if he would have been that man, that abuser, if his life hadn't changed like this. The thought was painful. He didn't want to be that guy, and as scared as he was now, he found himself more afraid that he might have been that man.

He sat up rubbing his eyes as if it would remove the scenes and images from his head, but it didn't help. He could her Shira crying out to him and he couldn't stop it. Then a new worry struck him. He remembered the rose. _Was it really going to stop blooming so soon? What if it already had?_ He reached under the bed, pulled out the rose in its glass casing. He could feel it mocking him, as though this were all some mean trick. The rose was still tight and budlike at this time. This was Gaston's only comfort. There was still some time, even if it wasn't much. He looked outside. The weather matched itself to Gaston's emotions. Rain drops crawled down the window pane. The stretch of grey sky continued endlessly. Dim light barely pierced the clouds overhead. The world seemed so cold to him right now. The people who were the nicest to him now did not even know his identity.

He had always been so forward with his image, and now he felt so shut off from the world, so hidden. Icy chills ran through him as he stared blankly at the curtain in front of him. His mind was frosted with dreary emotions, and thoughts were wisps he couldn't cling to.

Belle smiled at the architect. "Thank you so much for coming all the way out here from Paris."

"Ah, Mademoiselle, it was my pleasure." The man had a kind expression.

"Really thank you, Monsieur Claude." Adam returned the warm glance. "We have heard you are the most renowned architect in all of Europe."

Claude let out a hearty laugh. "Well, I am not sure about that, but I'm flattered nonetheless. Now where are the rooms you want to remodel?"

"Well you see there are a number of rooms where we want to raise the ceilings and change the flooring." Adam had a longer list, but he didn't want to tell the architect everything just yet, as he wanted to hear his thoughts about these particular changes.

"Ah yes, of course. Well, let's look at them." They walked down the hallways to a section of rooms which had been blocked off.

"We've started some of the construction already." Adam looked a little nervous. Belle smiled at him as she had in fact never seen the inside of these rooms. They were blocked off since the enchantment wore off.

"Well, let us go inside." Claude pulled out some tools and began to work away at the wooden blockades. Adam became progressively tenser. When Claude finished, the three of them proceeded inside. Tons of paintings were strewn about the room, many of them torn or covered.

Claude lifted one as though mildly disgusted. "What did you want to do with these Monsieur?" Adam swallowed.

"I guess we'll trash them." He looked as though he'd just been shot in the leg. Belle ran over to the paintings overwhelmed by curiosity.

"Adam, why do you want to throw these out? They look old. This kid looks a lot like you Adam…." She trailed off. She realized why he was so intent on remodeling the rooms. These were the rooms which contained Adam's childhood and family memories. She realized he would regret getting rid of all of this however. "Adam, I think we need to keep these." She wasn't going to let some painful memories make Adam discard his entire past.

"Belle," Adam didn't want to talk about this in front of the architect. "Claude, would you excuse us for a moment?"

"S…sure." Claude looked uncomfortable and walked out of the room.

"Belle, this is my decision." He looked at her sternly.

"Adam you have to stop running from your past. I don't know what it is, but I'm here for you, and you just can't erase your childhood. It's part of who you are." Belle knew she was right, and she was just as stubborn as he was. She didn't want him to make a decision he would regret.

"You're right, but…it's hard Belle. You don't understand." He looked away.

"Let me try." She put her hand on his cheek, turning his face towards her. He looked at her with a confirming smile.

"All right, we'll store them for now, but I'm not ready to look at them yet." Belle's eyes showed her understanding. They called Claude back, and discussed the future renovations, making some decisions about the ceilings and floors. Afterwards, Belle wandered back to the room, her curiosity about the pictures leading her there, while Adam stayed behind to eat lunch. She looked through the portraits, and many of them looked typical. A father stood with a mother and son, and Belle recognized some younger versions of Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and other members of the household. However, one picture struck her. There was a face in the back corner that was very unfamiliar. Cold blue eyes seemed to pierce through the image. It was a young man with high sharp cheekbones. His hair was a pale yellow and his image was almost haunting. Belle couldn't help wonder who he was and how he was involved with the family. She was determined to find out about Adam's past and do whatever it would take to eradicate his pains with it.


	13. Chapter 13

That night Gaston heard the violence again. Meek utterances escaped through the curtain. Gaston lay still hoping it would pass. Shira's cries tore at him in the night. He turned over in his bed wishing that silence would arrive. _I wish I could stop it._ He knew he could not possibly say anything to them since he had no capability to fight Jacob, so he froze under the covers dreaming up ways to stop the violence. He waited for a decent idea to make it through to him. He had never been an expert at planning and was coming to realize that at this point. He concluded he only had one option. He had to tell someone else in the castle. _But who?_ He felt uneasy going through the faces in his mind. There was not a single person he would feel comfortable talking to about this. He thought about telling Chip, but looking back on his own childhood experiences, he knew Chip did not need to hear about it. He thought through every person in the castle. It hit him. There was only one person he was sure would care, only one he knew would do something about it. _Belle, I have to tell her._ He had no clue what she could do, but there had to be something. After tossing and turning, the beating finally silenced. Gaston wanted to help Shira. At the same time, he wondered why he felt so strongly about her. Her face never left his mind. He pushed it away and forced himself to sleep.

Belle looked around the bedroom as Adam lay still and asleep beside her. The face from the picture haunted her. She wondered why she had never seen or heard of him. She knew he didn't want to talk about it, but she wondered why. She thought she had uncovered all his secrets with the enchantment, but it seemed as though there was something deeper, darker. The mystery entranced her. Belle found herself caught up in the imagination of what it all could be. She desperately wanted to understand, not merely out of curiosity, but compassion. She turned over to face Adam, his eyes closed. She pushed his hair back behind his ear, and stroked his cheek as if trying to let him know how she felt, why he needed to talk to her, but he was far away in a world of dreams, not able to know what she was expressing at that moment. She closed her eyes hoping the night would bring them closer together.

Gaston woke up to see sunlight glistening on the bedside table. Today he was going to do it. He would tell Belle. Then they would do something about it, and Shira would be safe again, maybe she and Gaston would even be friends. Gaston wished he were handsome again. He sat up and began to walk towards the door.

"Uh, Jacques,"a feminine voice came from behind him.

He turned to see Shira. His heart danced as he looked at her. She managed to hide her bruising well, and looked as beautiful as always. "Uh, yes?" He was incredibly relieved to see she was okay.

"Jacques, I don't know what you heard last night, but well I heard you tossing over in your bed. And listen, please don't talk to anyone." Her expression horrified him.

He decided to pretend like he didn't know anything. "Heard what? What do you mean?"

Shira looked unsure of how to respond. Gaston could see her thinking, realizing she may have said something she shouldn't have. However she continued with resolve. "I don't know if you are playing dumb, but whether you are or not, you cannot tell anyone in the castle about what goes on between me and Jacob."

Gaston couldn't help but argue. He would not pretend. "But, he's hurting you…"

She cut him off in a harsh whisper. "Jacques, you have a kind heart, but you do not know everything. Telling anyone would only make it worse for me. Please promise me you won't talk to anyone about what goes on."

Gaston didn't know what to say. She was asking a lot. He couldn't just stand by, but he had to. That was the only way she would trust him. _She said I have a kind heart._ No one had ever said that to Gaston before. He had to promise, for her. "All right, I promise. I won't tell."

Shira smiled, but her expression was hard to read. She was a much more complex woman that anyone Gaston knew. "Thank you. It means to me very much." Gaston internally chuckled at the cuteness of how she occasionally butchered the French language. Her accent was irresistible.

"Shira, come here. Where have you run off to?" Jacob appeared behind her. "Oh, hello Jacques. Shira, I've been looking all over for you. I thought you were coming with me to breakfast." Shira turned quickly to him.

"Jacob, I'm sorry. I went back to grab my shawl. I forgot it." She looked at him guiltily.

"Shira, you are so clumsy. Come on. Let us go eat now. Are you ready?" She nodded. "Women. Oy. Jacques, I am sure you understand. They are like dogs the way you have to monitor them, so stupid". Gaston didn't even know how to respond. He could feel himself getting disgusted. He didn't understand how Jacob could say these things about Shira. More and more he found himself hating Jacob, and the man he himself used to be. The two of them walked out. Shira shot Gaston a forlorn glance. He felt a pang in his chest watching her suffer day after day, and now she wouldn't even let him do anything about it.

The day dragged on and Gaston tried to think of something to do to pull his mind away from Shira. Salvation came, this time in the form of a twelve year old girl.

"Jacques, have you seen Chip or Cecilia? I'm supposed to be watching them, and they've run off again." Gaston never really remembered meeting the girl.

"No, uh. I haven't." She jumped slightly as if someone had just poked her.

"Oh excuse me. I'm so sorry. I haven't introduced myself. I just got back. I was touring a school in Paris. I might go there, but anyways, everyone in the castle has told me about you. I'm Genevieve. It is very nice to meet you Monsieur." The girl sort of curtsied, and Gaston just smiled uncomfortably. Apparently his ugly form made him extremely easy to spot and recognize.

"Um, same to you". Gaston had never really been well mannered.

"Well do you want to help me try to find them?"

"Who?" Gaston had forgotten what they were originally talking about.

"Chip and Cecilia." Genevieve let out a chuckle.

"Oh yeah. Sure." Gaston wasn't thrilled, but he was willing to do anything to take his mind off of Shira.


	14. Chapter 14

Belle reentered the room she had first looked at for renovation. Old portraits and paintings covered most of the floor space. Belle looked at the same painting she had examined earlier. The pale face and piercing blue eyes prodded her. She took her hand to the glass cover, brushing the dust off. She had time to examine it more closely now as Adam was busy talking to another French architect. He and Belle decided he would keep looking until he found the best architect in France and if necessary, all of Europe. Belle found herself bored by it and told Adam she wouldn't mind if he made all the decisions. What she had not told him, however, was that she would use this time to find out what Adam was hiding. She couldn't fight her curiosity. It was like the time when she explored the west wing. Something told her she just had to. She focused in on the eyes in the painting, hoping for some clue, some hint to Adam's secret history, but nothing was coming to her. Belle turned the painting over placing it on the pile. She let out a sigh, not knowing how long this would take. Glancing back over it, she noticed the closing back piece was bulging. _Now why wouldn't this close over a piece of canvas?_ She knew there was something weird about this painting.

Belle poked her fingers under the back edges of the frame, trying to ease out the back piece without damaging anything. After a bit of tugging and prying, the piece popped out. Inside was a note. Belle couldn't make out most of the writing. The alphabet was familiar, but many of the words looked like gibberish. She noticed at the end of every couple of lines there were words she recognized, but the phrases made no sense, at least not contextually. She eyed down the page recognizing terms, "for fire", "for silence". Most of them continued in the same fashion, but the two lines in particular haunted her, "For death to those who breech the sacred oath", and "long live Ezerius Mordonaut". Belle couldn't help wonder who this person was, or why this not would be kept in some old painting or what any of it meant. She studied the note and decided to keep it in her pocket to look over it later. As she stood up, she heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

"So monsieur, these are the rooms which you want to renovate." Belle knew Adam was going to show the architect the room. She did not want him to see her snooping around. As a last minute decision she bolted into the closet, deciding to hide there until the two of them had finished discussing. Then she would have a talk with Adam about the mysterious note.

Gaston found himself exhausted from the search. _How many rooms are there in this castle? _He and Genevieve had searched through endless hallways, furnished rooms, and garden space. Staring at the endless stretch of corridor, Gaston wondered how anyone in the castle could stand trying to find anyone else inside it.

"Haven't we been here before?" Gaston tried to hide his breaths of exasperation.

"Yeah, Jacques, I'm kind of worried. I've never had this much trouble finding them. Do you think they left the castle grounds?" She glanced over at him, the worried expression plastered on her face.

"Uh…" Gaston wasn't sure how to respond. He was not very intent on journeying through the forest on what might be a wild goose chase.

"Will you just come with me to look? I don't really want to go out there by myself. It's kind of dangerous." She glanced over at him, her eyes full of worry.

"Sure," Gaston replied reluctantly. _Great._ Gaston was not ready to get attacked by some wild animal and find himself incapable of defense.

"Ok, follow me." Genevieve led him out through a back door. "If anyone in the castle sees us, they'll think I'm irresponsible, and never let me go away to school. Thanks for helping me find them." She continued on about school in Paris and retold stories about people in the castle while leading Gaston further into a very eerie part of the forest. "Jacques, something isn't right here." Gaston knew exactly what she was talking about. The two of them had just come from a beautiful sunny patch. Somehow the forest in a few feet managed to transform entirely. Grey haze soaked the branches of the trees. Purple darkness enveloped them and the normal forest sounds had gone silent. The atmosphere seemed too familiar to Gaston. _If this is another bearer of bad news, I'm going to re-hurl myself off of the edge of the castle._ Before Gaston could even think he heard familiar voices.

"Cecilia, it's okay. Someone will find us. Don't cry." Gaston could hear a child's whimpering in the darkness.

"Jacques, that's them! We have to do something. Chip! Cecilia! It ok we're-", but before she could finish Gaston clasped his hand over her mouth.

He leaned in closely to her and began to whisper. "Genevieve, I don't think we should make our presence known. I think there is some kind of sorcery going on here." Genevieve understood exactly what he was saying and didn't protest. Gaston could barely see her nodding through the cold darkness. She gently tugged on him, following the direction of her sibling's voices. Gaston hoped this wasn't some sort of trick. He had been through enough of this before. He was surprised at how brave Genevieve was. He never knew any young girls like that. As they inched forward they noticed the glimmer of what looked like green fire.

"Genevieve, where are you?" Chip's voice came between tears. Gaston knew how much Genevieve probably wanted to respond but was relieved when she didn't reply. Finally they could see the glow of the faces in the fire. When Gaston could finally make out the whole picture, horror gripped him. He hadn't felt this kind of fear since he could remember. Chip and Cecilia were dangling inside a cage. Below them were what looked like freshly bloody carcasses. Gaston didn't stare long enough to see if they were human. Chip was barely holding himself together as Cecilia clung to him letting out a mixture of sobs and wheezing.

"We have to cut them down Jacques." Gaston was shocked when Genevieve wasn't absolutely terrified. He didn't want to seem like a wimp, so he nodded and searched his pockets for a blade. "Don't worry I've got it." Genevieve pulled out a small dagger and glanced up, her concentrated expression gleaming in the fire. "I can't reach up there, Jacques. Can you do it?" Her voice was barely audible, as she didn't want to be heard.

Without answering Gaston took the knife from her. He had longed for this, to feel heroic again, even if that meant risking his life. It wasn't much of a life anyways from his standpoint. He inched around the fire bearing the dagger in his hand, and began slicing away at the cord. Chip looked too terrified to speak at this point. Gaston then heard a deep voice bellow from behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Slowly Gaston turned around. Glowing eyes peered at him through the darkness, and it looked as though Genevieve had vanished. Gaston had no response. Chip and Cecilia went completely silent.

"You want to take my prizes here from me?" The eyes pierced every bit of haze, clearly looking at Gaston. "Put down the blade, and I'll let you go safely." Two huge beasts appeared beside the figure, whose shape was still unclear. Gaston slowly lowered the knife, not loosening his grip on it. His fear was fighting him. Gaston felt something press into his lower back. Gaston heard Genevieve's voice, weirdly inside his head. _Don't move._

"Put the weapon down!" The voice was horrifying but Gaston felt compelled not to let go of the blade. The eyes came closer to him, and the shadowy beasts began to emerge from the darkness. Gaston was sure he and the others would die right there. Suddenly a beam of light shot out from behind him. The two beasts recoiled back in pain. The glowing eyes widened and vanished. Gaston aware of the time he now had, cut down the cage. It was made out of wood, so he was able to cut through it as well. Chip and Cecilia came out looking terrified. Gaston turned behind him to see Genevieve's body sprawled across the ground. He knew they had to get back to the castle, and was not going to risk waiting any longer. He reached under Genevieve's back with all the strength he could muster and slung her limp body over his sagging shoulders.

"Come on we need to get back to the castle." Chip and Cecilia continued in front of him, and Gaston prayed that Genevieve would regain consciousness soon enough to tell him what had just occurred. They moved as fast as they could and entered the castle through the same back door they left from. He led them to the place he thought they could talk in most secretively, Chip's bedroom. He laid Genevieve's limp figure across the bed.

"Why were you two out there?" Gaston's sweat drenched hair hung over his face as he pushed them for some hint as to what had happened. "And what on earth were those creatures?"


	15. Chapter 15

Belle's breath was still in her throat. Her hand tightly gripped the pocket where she hid the note. She overheard Adam, slightly frightened that he may find her in the closet and become enraged at her. The beastly temper had never quite worn off after the spell was broken. She could still sometimes see the remaining monster in his eyes, but somehow that pulled her closer to him. The phrases in the note danced through her mind. The fear dazzled and entranced her. She could scarcely see Adam through the slits in the door. His deep voice was muffled through the wood. She listened half-heartedly as her focus remained on the haunting words and the face in the image. The mysterious pieces didn't fit into place.

"Well, vaulted ceilings are currently the most in style. However in a room such as this, I might recommend the tray instead. You also might want to try a new kind of wood. I would recommend a darker wood such as…" The architect whiny voice droned on, and Belle felt as though she might suffocate in the closet. She could sense Adam's boredom.

"Hmm, I don't know about the closet. I think you might want to open it up to give the room a more spacious feeling." Belle felt her whole body tense up. She had no clue what to say if Adam found her hiding in the closet. She froze against the wall. Her hand hurt from squeezing her pocket so tightly.

Adam's voice came in a wave of redemption. "Actually, I want to get some ideas about the other rooms before you need to leave".

"Ah absolutely, Monsieur Devearoux," the man squeaked. Belle always thought it was weird when people called Adam by his last name. She listened for their footsteps and held her breath until they left the room. When she could no longer hear their voices in the hallway, she emerged from tiny room gasping for air. It felt as though she had been trapped in there for an eternity. She slowly pulled the note from her pocket taking a moment to reread it. She found the strange mix of words pulling her in. Her curiosity overwhelmed her. Lifting her head, she looked up and gasped.

Adam was facing her directly. "Belle did you really think I couldn't tell you were hiding in the closet?"

She looked at him innocently. "Are you angry?" She did not want to re-experience the rose discovery drama.

"No, I'm really just shocked." Adam let the tension leave his expression. "What are you snooping around for, Belle? I just don't really understand why you feel this need to always go digging through everyone's past. Sometimes you have to fight your curiosity."

Belle was shocked by how calm Adam was, but Belle loved mysteries and she had trouble resisting the urge to find out what was hidden. "I'm sorry dear, but I don't think I can just stop being curious. Besides, did you know about this?" Belle handed him the note, as he looked down trying to read it. Belle wandered over to the picture. "It was hidden in the back of this portrait. Do you know who Ezerius Mordonaut is, or who this is?" She pointed to the blond man in the painting.

Adam's expression grew puzzled. "Well the man in the painting was named Irving. I don't really remember him. He left before the enchantment on the castle. He was a distant cousin, I think. Belle, I don't understand though. Ezerius Mordonaut was the man responsible for the death of my parents." Adam's expression darkened.

Belle gasped. "Well could the two be related?" Adam looked over the image, the confusion evident on his face.

He looked up at her. "I don't know."

Chip and Cecilia looked up at Gaston, still frightened by the whole experience.

"Well, Cecilia wanted to play pirate explorers. We usually don't go of castle grounds, but we saw this really cute kitty. We both like kitties a lot." Gaston was mildly disgusted by this reason, but he didn't let it show on his face.

"Jacques, we don't know what those monsters were. Do you know?" Cecilia looked desperate for an answer.

" I, uh…no." Gaston for once couldn't even make something up. In all the hunting he had done in his life, nothing had even remotely resembled those creatures. They were more terrifying than the beast. He could still picture the haunting red eyes. "Is Genevieve okay? How did she do that?"

"I don't know Jacques. Genevieve is kind of weird and quiet." Chip made a weird face.

"I think it was magic. Genevieve has all kind of magic books in her room." Cecilia glanced over at Genevieve's limp body.

A year ago Gaston would have laughed in Cecilia's face, but at this point, anything was possible, even realistic. They heard a creaking of the door. Chip looked worried.

The face they saw was the one they least expected. "Uh, I am sorry to intrude, but I was looking for Jacques. Am I interrupting any things?" Shira's worried expression pulled Gaston's attention from the matter at hand.

"Yeah! Can't you see our sister's passed out?" Shira looked embarrassed. Gaston was furious at Chip for answering.

"No, it's fine. Come in. What is it?" Gaston could see her sleeves didn't manage to cover the bruises that covered her wrists.

"Well I must talk in private. Only a minute, I promise." She glanced at him looking terrified.

"Uh, well ok, Chip, Cecilia, keep a close eye on your sister. I'll be right back."

"But Jacques," they protested.

"Just a minute, " he said through closed teeth. He stood up and followed Shira into the hallway outside behind a side wall of the castle.

"Jacques. Listen. Jacob got really angry last night. He thinks someone knows about us."

Gaston was totally confused, "knows about what?" Shira looked at him slightly surprised.

"Normally I wouldn't tell anyone this, but something about you makes me feel trust. Will you promise to keep this secret?"

"Sure, what is it?" Gaston didn't understand what else she could possibly want to keep secret. It was weird enough that she wouldn't let him tell anyone she had an abusive husband.

"Jacob and I traveled here from Russia, to escape the pogroms. We have been hiding because if people know about us our lives could be in danger."

"Pogroms?" Gaston was beyond confused at this point.

"Jacques, we're Jews. People want to kill us because of that." Gaston's jaw dropped. He had never seen a Jew in his life, and had only heard stories in the town, but the image he had was nothing like Jacob and Shira. Gaston was speechless.

"You cannot tell anyone. Do you understand? I'm sure Jacob was worrying for no reason, but if people do find out, well let's just hope that doesn't happen." Gaston looked at her. He could sense her worry. She looked as though she wasn't sure if she should have told him.

"Don't worry Shira. No one will find out, and I won't hurt you." She smiled with relief. She looked beautiful when she smiled.

"Well you better get back to the children. They seemed worried."

"Yeah, they are." The two of them walked back to the room where Chip and Cecilia were still looking at Genevieve's limp body. Shira left and Gaston couldn't help wonder why her accent seemed slightly familiar to him. He certainly had never been to Russia.


	16. Chapter 16

(Okay- I know its been awhile. I am back however with more chapters full of new material, so enjoy..or judge I guess. Sorry this one is so short. I'll come out with longer chapters soon- I promise. This week is really hectic and busy.)

Gaston watched as Genevieve's body still lay completely still. He stared at her chest hoping to see it rise and fall, but could not see any movement or sign of breathing, yet something kept him sure she was still alive.

"Jacques please do something. Make her better." Chip's eyes begged him, pooling with tears. Cecilia stared away blankly, eyes glazed over with an unidentifiable emotion.

"I can't". Gaston looked away from the two children, whose faces were pleading with him. Once again he was helpless, unable to do anything. The painful feeling returned from long ago, an almost unfamiliar mixture of guilt, shame, desperation, and helplessness. He could see his uncle standing in front of him. The familiar angry voice rang in his head.

"You little shit. You couldn't do one tiny thing in this house? I thought I showed you how to kill a deer. Did you just forget we needed something to eat?" The young Gaston turned away guiltily.

"Uncle, there weren't any. I tried." He looked up meekly. "I'm sorry".

"Well sorry won't bring in a meal for me, will it?" He grabbed Gaston tossing him over a table and holding him there. Gaston could hear the belt slide out of the loops preparing himself for the violent beating. He hated seeing his uncle like that, and he hated the pain that seared through his body.

He could feel it now as he looked at Genevieve's limp body, unable to fix it. He was never incapable of fixing anything since his youth, but now he couldn't do anything. He only stared on blankly at the ghostly body.

Cecilia's face suddenly became bright. "I know who can help us!" She shouted. Gaston could not think of any individual in the castle who could provide any help.

Chip glared at her. "Cecilia, I don't want to play a game."

"It's not one. I'll be right back." With that Cecilia darted off, leaving Gaston and Chip to stare at the limp body before them.

Adam rapidly glanced back and forth between the note and the picture searching for some hint as to why they were together. "Belle, I think these are spells." Belle looked up at him, eyes widening.

"You mean, there are people in this castle that know magic?" Adam looked down, his expression heavy.

"No, magic is a dark art. It's forbidden as far as I know. But..." Adam trailed off, turning his focus to the pile of portraits. Belle grabbed his shoulder, the curiosity evident on her face.

"What? Please tell me." She turned his head to face hers directly.

"I had a magic book as a child, a gift from my grandfather. He got it on a trip to Africa years ago, and some of these spells were in it. I can recognize the figures. What if that's where someone got these spells from?" Belle's confused look prompted him to speak more. "The book was kept in the library. There were probably others from family travels. Belle we should go to the library. Maybe we'll find something there."

Belle's excitement overcame her. A new mystery that they would work on together was exactly what she wanted. "Let's go." Her eyes widened as they reached the door together, slowly making their way through the castle.

Belle looked through the shelves, desperately searching for some clue. Adam was just as dedicated in his quest. They looked at every book on the shelf.

"Adam, there's a book missing, actually a couple I think." Belle slid her hands across the spines which were tilted against the bookends. "The spines here are all tilted, but this is strange." Adam followed her to the spot and looked at the tilted books on the shelf. Belle continued. " The books are arranged alphabetically and the missing books aren't from the M or S section for say magic or spells. This section is Q. I can't think of titles with Q that relate to magic. What was your spell book called?"

Adam looked at her, his expression contemplative. "It was called Magic from the Ancients. It's still here. I found it." He lifted it and handed it to Belle, who anxiously swept through the pages.

"I don't understand". She was flipping the pages almost violently, expecting something to appear. "Why wouldn't they take this one? If someone wants magic, then wouldn't they take the magic books?" She continued flipping, not listening for an answer. The book looked as it should, full of incantations, magical recipes, and other bits of text unfamiliar to her. She continued searching more vigorously.

"Look!" Adam had wandered across the library to the D section. Heavy metallic spines lined the shelves in this particular section. Belle came over and skimmed over the titles, many Dark Arts books, again strangely all in place. Then she noticed what Adam had referred to. Crammed in the corner, almost smashed against a bookend, there was a small red book with gray faded writing. The title was _Dark Arts: Above and Beyond_, but that was not what they found striking. Below the title were the words that shook them: _By Irving Mordonaut, a scholar in our midst._


	17. Chapter 17

(Okay I have no excuse for taking so long, just laziness and business and drama, but now I am finally posting the next chapter-more to come soon!)

Gaston stared at the frozen body. The closed eyes and blank expression put horrific thoughts in his mind. Chip's eyes darted anxiously around the room and the silence was heavy on both of them. They both anxiously listened for footsteps outside.

Cecilia reentered almost majestically with a triumphant smile. A robust woman stepped in behind her.

"Well then, what is the damage?" The booming operatic voice filled the room. Gaston recognized the woman, Madame de La Grande Bouche, but everyone called her Madame for short. "Let me see the child". She sang the last word as if it were a theatrical performance. Everyone backed away for the huge woman to pass, all hands pointing at the delicate Genevieve.

"Hmm, this is certainly worse than I thought, dark magic from years ago." Her face became scrunched in thought. She lifted a chubby finger and proceeded. "Well, no matter. I have a recipe that should lift this." Before anyone could even offer to help Madame, she pulled a collection of vials straight out of her bosom and began pouring them into a flask she retrieved from her pocket. "La di di da di YAAAA LALA". The last few notes were painful in volume. Gaston found himself flinching from the sound. "All right then, all done. Now we just give it to her." She lifted the concoction tenderly as if to feed it to Genevieve, carefully replacing and removing the cap. Everyone watched in shock as Madame dumped the liquid over Genevieve's limp body.

Everyone watched, waiting in desperate hope.

"Now!" Madame sang the phrase in a painfully high octave, causing everyone to cringe. As they were recovering and protecting their ears from further damage, Genevieve's body suddenly shot forward with a new burst of life and her gasping and wheezing filled the awed silence.

"It worked?" Gaston looked around in a state of confusion. "How did you do that? How did you know to do that? What was that?"

"Ah well, I've had my share of encounters with the dark arts. You see it all in the theatre." She began humming.

"Thanks Madame!" Cecilia and Chip ran to hug her.

"Of course, my dears. How did this happen in the first place?" She looked directly at Gaston.

"Well Chip and Cecilia got lost in the forest and I found them and got Jacques to help us. He saved our lives." Gaston looked over at Genevieve, awestruck. That was a blatant lie. He saw Genevieve save them, risk her life in fact. He decided not to refute her though, not so much due to his pride as much as his trust that Genevieve had a good reason to lie.

"Wow, Jacques, a hero. We should have a celebration!" Madame's voice boomed.

"No, that's really not necessary." Gaston hoped that no one heard Madame. He wanted the whole ordeal to be as much of a secret as possible.

"Nonsense, I'll make the arrangements." Before anyone could argue, Madame had gone singing out the door.

Lefou stared down at the childhood portrait of him and Gaston. _I wonder how he's doing._ He shifted daintily in his seat and pulled out a bound book of parchment marked with dates. He flipped through it.

"February 10th, that's tomorrow!" He shut the book excitedly, remembering that tomorrow would be his meeting with Gaston. _I wonder if he's earned their forgiveness, or even told them his identity._ Lefou heard a soft knock at his door.

Lefou hopped of the chair and proceeded to bounce towards the door. He timidly opened it, peeking through the small opening. "Who is it?" He stumbled over the question.

"I don't see why that should be any concern of yours, and don't worry I don't want to come inside." A hooded shape faced Lefou from outside the door. "I believe you are in contact with someone at the castle, hmm?"

"Uh why do you say that?" Lefou was terrible at lying.

"Nothing important, but if you can provide me some information, I will reward you handsomely." Gold coins almost poured through the slit in the doorway. "Just read this and consider it." The voice almost hissed the last few syllables. "I shall intend to stop by the same time tomorrow evening and I expect answers to those questions". The figure turned and walked away, barely letting Lefou catch a glimpse of the gleaming red eyes.

Lefou shut the door and unfolded the parchment. He squinted to read the writing. He barely knew how to read excluding calendars and checkmarks, but it didn't matter. The paper began to speak.

"Young minion, listen carefully to my bidding. I need you to hold me in your hand as you recite these important questions to the fellow you know. I shall remember. It is no task of yours. You must only speak these words:

Has there been any talk of magic in the castle?

Have you encountered magic?

(This one is the most important) Does anyone in the castle know how to use magic?

This is you task minion. Go to it and do not tell anyone of your mission or you will suffer. The efforts, however will be well worth the reward."

The voice went silent. Lefou looked at it with intense confusion. "Uh, well, what if I forget?" _Like it's really going to answer me._ Lefou held the parchment tightly with frustration.

"Then ask again fool!" Lefou let out a shocked squeal and dropped the parchment.

"Okay, sorry." He lifted the parchment clumsily and placed it on his countertop. He looked at the tower of gold coins on the floor. "I'll bring you along tomorrow." The parchment rolled itself up and Lefou went on with his nightly habits.

"Genevieve, why did you tell her I rescued everyone?" Gaston paced in confusion.

"Well, you kind of rescued me. And well, can you keep a secret?"

_I'm keeping a lot right now._ "Yes I can keep a secret. What is it?" Gaston had no clue what kind of secret would make it necessary to lie.

"Well, Chip and Cecilia, will you promise to keep it secret too?"

"Of course!" They answered in unison.

"Okay well, today with those creatures, I used magic. If anyone knew I delved in the dark arts…well I would be in a lot of trouble. You guys have to understand I do it for my own protection. Besides, I think someone who knows magic wants to attack the castle. I lied because it's much more believable that you saved us than me. I can't tell them I know magic, but I know we're all going to have to fight this creature, whatever it is."

"But wouldn't it help to tell the master?" Gaston could not understand why Genevieve didn't tell a bigger lie in the first place if she didn't want them to know.

"Well, we'll tell them about the attack, but you can't tell them I'm learning magic." Genevieve whispered the last part.

"Okay." Gaston, Chip, and Cecilia all replied in unison.


	18. Chapter 18

The air was hot and stale in the room that night

The air was hot and stale in the room that night. Gaston lay with wide open eyes fixed on the ceiling. On the other side of the curtain, a foreign whisper muffled Shira's soft sobs. They had become so familiar to Gaston, but on this night, his focus drifted elsewhere. He kept seeing the glowing eyes, almost piercing him. There was something eerily familiar about them, like an old dream or a distant memory. He rolled on his side in an attempt to sleep.

"Jacques!" A harsh whisper shook him. He quickly turned over to see Genevieve's face glowing behind a candle. "I heard something. Come with me, please. I'm not sure what it is."

Gaston twisted and pulled himself upward. _Well I can't sleep anyways. What does it matter?_ Genevieve moved to the doorway, motioning for Gaston to follow. He lifted himself out of the bed, pulled his torn red coat over his nightclothes, and proceeded behind Genevieve, who was quickly passing through the corridor.

"So uh, what exactly did you hear?" Gaston became winded keeping up with her.

"Well, I'm not sure, really, but it sounded like shrieking almost. It was pretty frightening, actually."

_Great._ Gaston was hoping for more of a dull thud or some sound that could easily have been nothing. He proceeded to follow Genevieve down a long staircase. _ Where the hell are we going?_ His eyes darted around, searching for light in the near-darkness.

"This is where it came from. I don't understand though. It looks like there's nothing here." Genevieve shifted nervously.

"Well, it was probably just your imagin-" Gaston stopped midsentence, eyes gaping at a reddish shape on the floor.

"What?" Genevieve turned around, the dim light of the candle illuminating the form just enough for them to identify it. A bloody mass lay still, surrounded by ash. Chunks of flesh were scattered at varying distances around the body.

"Is that a person?" Gaston surveyed the area as Genevieve choked back tears. He reached down to touch it. "It's still warm whatever it is. I think we should leave. Whatever killed it may attack us." He watched it as if it might get up and attack.

"No," Genevieve voiced through sniffles. Quickly, she regained composure. "What ever killed this thing left. Do you see that mark on the wall?" She illuminated a grey mosaic imprint, almost like a shadow. "I know that mark. It's advanced dark magic. It's the mark that someone leaves behind after transporting. We came too late." Genevieve looked at the figure. "At least it wasn't a person, just livestock. But why would you kill a pig and then leave?"

Gaston shuddered and forced the thought that had been haunting him since the discovery. "Because he was looking for someone else."

Belle sat up in the bed looking over the Dark Arts book. Adam lay sleeping peacefully next to her. _Lucky for him he's not so restless. Now why didn't they take this book?_ She continued turning the pages as quietly as possible. The surname continued to bother her. This was the second time that the name appeared. Belle had no knowledge of the family, and Adam had done little to enlighten her. Could Irving have been linked to the death of Adam's parents? She continued scouring through the pages.

Finally on page 211, she found something. A bold word caught her attention: "Quiescence- the magic art of bringing those to peace, suffering and death." That was it, the Q word. Someone had stolen the books about using magic to kill. Belle continued on reading. "Quiescence was originally the art of murder, intended to bring about death in a painless and peaceful way. However, great magicians have molded this art over time to include great techniques relating to pain and death. This art form has been delicately modified to be precise and exact in every form of its use. The induction of suffering and pain is a great magical feat which can now be controlled in levels of extremity and variability. This is perhaps the greatest art form we have available to us today, labeled by the famous Dark arts master, James Rostov as the 'most beautiful magic to be discovered by those worthy of its power'." Belle looked at the page. Her eyes widened as she kept rereading the words "art form". _How can it be seen that way?_ _Regardless of how you perform them, they are still just mere acts of brutality._

She turned over to Adam and tugged lightly on his shoulder. She watched him as he curled up like a little boy, and her face softened. _I suppose it can wait till morning._


End file.
